Ray and Maya
by Skyla Talon
Summary: This is the story of how Ray and Maya became the first ever masters of Fire and Water in Ninjago. How they met their friends, and their roles in the various battles for Ninjago. Most importantly it is how they fled from circumstances that dedicated that they be enemies to be the wonderful couple that we know that they are... Rating cause I'm paranoid.
1. Prologue

Prologue: Off to War We A Go…

~On the Road to the Battle of Agua-Feu (BorderLine)~

The sky was clear, with few wispy clouds floating along in the crisp air. Two war horses plodded along the dirt road, knights in shining armor sitting upon their backs. Both of them appeared fairly young, and very different. The one knight had fiery red hair and was covered in freckles, his dull brown eyes staring straight ahead. The other knight was far more animated, with short, almost spiky dark brown hair that looked auburn when the light caught it just right, and dark hazel eyes that were clearly furious about what it was he was ranting about…

"I mean come on! What's so wrong with wanting to be a blacksmith?! But no… Father says that as the future king I have to fight in the war myself…just like he did….and his father before him…and his father before him. It's annoying really. I mean, next thing I know he's gonna be telling me who to marry. Oh no! What if he orders me to marry Lady Marsha!? I don't even like her!" Panic flared in his eyes as he reached over and grasped the ruby studded hilt of his broadsword.

His companion glanced over at him, clearly exhausted from just listening to the rant the young prince had just subjected him to. "My prince…please. The king, your father, only wants what is best for the kingdom."

The boy, for he was barely old enough to be considered a teen, scoffed. "Precisely Rich… he cares for the kingdom. Not me. That and you can drop the formality. It's just us. So you can call me Ray without getting yelled out for disrespecting me."

Richard, better known as Rich, nodded humbly, knowing better than to argue with the furious teen. "As you wish, Ray. But you know that the General is expecting Crown Prince Raymond Forgeron to arrive to join his troops. Not a simple boy named Ray."

"I know that…I just wish that I can just be Ray. No stinky responsibilities." Ray grumbled under his breath, still mad that he had been denied a chance to be apprenticed to a blacksmith.

Richard shook his head, wishing he could comfort his friend, but knowing his family was being to let him be the prince's squire…not a friend. "Come now. We don't want to be late. General Warstin was told to expect us at noon."

With that said, he urged his horse onward, trusting that the prince would follow him…if not reluctantly.

~Inside of the Palace in the Capital of Agua~

"Absolutely not! No daughter of mine is going to be seen fighting in the war!" A furious looking man with sea-green eyes and graying white hair roared as he moved around the elaborate throne room. He was wearing a gold crown and a thick blue cloak that was held up by a gold chain.

His audience was a young, extremely beautiful young teen, barely more of a girl really. She had long, breath-taking, black hair that tumbled down her back in soft waves. Her eyes were a blazing, very angry at the moment, ocean blue, which seemed to stand out even more with her deep blue satin gown that she wore. Expensive jewelry decorated her neck and wrists, a circlet of the finest gems adorning her forehead. "But Father…I want to help with the war! I cannot just stand by and let it happen!"

"Hija… as future queen you must set an example…and girls just don't fight! It is a man's job!" The king glowered at his only child, furious beyond words that she would dare to conceive of such a ridiculous notion.

"If I were a boy you would let me go fight in the war. I want to help…and not by being a pretty face!" The princess spun around in her heel and stormed out of the throne room.

The king groaned as he sank back down into his plush throne. "I know you are there Niñera." A tapestry of two men valiantly battling each other shifted slightly, before an elderly woman with kind baby blue eyes stepped out. She had gray braids hanging down the sides of her head, and was wearing a drab gray dress made of rough wool. She silently curtsied to the king, waiting for him to speak first. The king sighed again as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small, pocket sized, portrait painting of his daughter. "Where did I go wrong with her? She used to be the perfect princess…but now…"

"She has grown; your highness." Pausing she looked over at the tired king. "May I recommend a compromise? One that might satisfy her need to help, but keep her out of harm's way?"

"And what might that be?" The King glanced over at his servant, slightly curious as to what she might be proposing.

"A field nurse. We always need more and they work behind the lines, away from the fighting. Truthfully I believe that seeing how the war endangers are young men will make her want to come home earlier." Niñera stated calmly, crossing her fingers behind her back that she was right about that.

"Hmmm, very well. Send for the princess. Tell her that I have thought over what it was she said and have come to a _safe_ decision on the matter." The king said by way of dismissing her.

Curtsying to her superior, she backed away to the hidden door behind the tapestry again. "Right away your highness."

….

Maya couldn't believe her luck. Her stuck in the mud father had agreed to let her go help in the war. Of course she was to have at least four guards on hand at all times…and she was not to leave the military's encampment at all. She also wasn't allowed to talk to strangers…but that was a no biggie for her. She readjusted herself on her pony, a frown briefly flashing across her face as she noticed the height difference between her horse and the war horses her escorts rode. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she picked the reins up in her soft, silk gloved hands, excitement thrumming through her. She was off to help her people.

~Back with Ray~

Ray felt sick as he scanned the camp that his father's army had set up. There was a pigsty filled to the brim with farm animals, smoky fires that made the air stink like nuts and his eyes water, and there were way too many field nurses tending to the wounded. Not only that, but he also noticed something that he definitely hadn't expected. War prisoners from the evil Agua Kingdom. A shiver rippled through the young prince, before he turned his attention to the man giving him the tour of the camp.

General Warstin was a hard man to please, though he did try his hardest when dealing with his superiors. What little hair he had left was as white as snow, while a thin mustache the color of coal peeked out from under his nose. Turning to face the prince suddenly, he pointed to the biggest, most important looking tent in the entire camp. "This here is your tent my prince. I sure hope it is up to your standards."

Ray felt like rolling his eyes. He could tell just by looking that it wasn't up to his standards at all…not unless he had his father's standards. "Thank you General. I will appreciate it if my squire can stay with me. If that is alright with you?"

"Of course! I will go find him and send him on over right away, my prince." The general hurried off, unaware of how Ray wrinkled his nose every time he called him prince.

~Line splits between screen to show both of our heroes, Maya uncomfortable with how close her guards are watching her, while Ray is disgusted by the war itself.~

"I hate being Royalty."

 **A/N: Done! Hope you enjoyed meeting Ray and Maya! And thank you Acecove, Master Jarrus, Nya fan girl 731, ArtJunkyard, and last but not least, TheNinjaOfArt! I got all of your reviews! And since you are all interested in my Romeo and Juliet AU for Ninjago, here it is! Please enjoy the official story!**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One: New Friends in Unlikely Places…

~With Ray~

Ray placed his chin in the palm of his hand as he waited for midnight to strike. He was supposed to be sleeping and leaving the night watches for the commoner soldiers… but he couldn't sleep. The war was just as horrible and pointless as he had believed it would be. Sighing, he flopped onto his cot, wishing Richard could be with him…but the young squire was in one of the med-tents, with a grievous injury. And apparently if he could get injured that must mean that the young prince needed to be under heavy guard at all times. Scowling at the ceiling, he listened to the muted sounds of life outside of the elaborate tent. Rolling over, he silently grabbed his boots from under his cot, slamming his feet into them. He needed to ride for a bit to clear his mind…without the guards.

~Back with Maya~

Maya frowned as she finished tying the bandage over the wounded soldier's bleeding arm. "There. That should keep you from getting any infection. Nurse Enfermera will be by soon to check on you."

"Thank you Princess." The man bowed his head to her to show his deep respect, and loyalty, to her family.

Maya fought the urge to roll her eyes at him and silently slipped out of the tent. Her shift was now officially over and she was still frustrated. No surprise to her was the fact that not only was there a night shift guarding the camp, but she also had her own personal guards standing guard outside of the tent. Gritting her teeth together in an attempt to keep herself from screaming at them, she walked off to her own private tent. The elaborate tent was perfect for her plan. They never came into her tent, there being too many guards and soldiers in the camp for an enemy spy to get close enough to stowaway in there. Sweeping the side of the tent open, she ducked inside. Allowing it to fall shut, she went through the motions of lighting her lamp. And digging through her chest to find her nightgown… and finally slipping out of the plain brown dress that all nurses wore and slipping her night gown on. Only it wasn't a night gown. It was a longer tunic shirt than what men typically wore that was an ocean blue color, and a pair of sea green breeches. Untying her braid, she allowed her hair to fall down her back, feeling relief over the lack of the weight of the braid. She smiled to herself as she pulled on her riding boots. Leaning over, she blew out the candle, dousing her tent into darkness.

Now for the fun to really begin…

~With Ray~

Ray sighed as he leaned back in the saddle, staring up at the night sky. The moon was barely visible, wisps of clouds flickering in front of it. Rubbing his eyes, he turned his attention back to the powerful war horse under him. "You doing ok there Firebolt?"

A snort escaped the horse as it pounded hard across the war torn ground. Ray sighed, before noticing an old ditch that was hidden from view unless on was on horseback. It was obvious by the looks of things that it had been abandoned years ago, possibly before Ray was even born. Smiling to himself, Ray nudged Firebolt over to the edge of the ditch. Leaping down nimbly, he quickly tied him to a nearby log, before sliding down into the ditch.

Settling down, he knitted his fingers together behind his head, staring up at the night sky. A rustling noise suddenly drew his attention, causing his head to snap towards the noise. It was coming from the other side of the ditch, opposite of where he came in from. As he watched, a beautiful girl his age with long flowing black hair and ocean blue eyes stepped into view.

Upon seeing him, she froze, surprise flashing in her eyes, before she took a step back. "I am sorry… I did not realize that someone was already here…."

Ray quickly waved her off, patting the ground next to him. "No no. Don't go. I was just enjoying what the night sky looks like away from what Father expects of me."

The newcomer eyed him for a bit, before shrugging and sitting down next to him. "I take it that your father is as pushy as my own." Pausing, she looked down at her lap, a frown creasing her brow. "I want to fight in the war. Help with the cause…but Father won't let me. He says that it is man's job to fight. He eventually agreed to let me go…but only as a field nurse and I just… I want to help! How does he expect me to see all of those injured soldiers and not want to help them fight?"

"You're telling me. My father refuses to let me become a blacksmith. Reason why I've been out here fighting in a war that I care nothing for instead of learning how to make horseshoes." Ray felt frustration flood him as he recalled his dream job that was shot down when his father made his decision.

She laughed a little at that, shaking her head. "Aye…nothing like sending our men and Feu's men out to fight in a war with no real reason than to have a war…and not let those who really want to help fight, fight in the war." She sighed, depression weighing down on her.

Ray froze, a nervous laugh escaping him. "You talk as if you're from Agua…"

"That's because I am…. And you talk as if you're from Feu…." She broke off, realization slipping into her eyes.

Ray spoke slowly, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. "I am from Feu…" She leapt to her feet and took off running to the edge of the ditch that she had come in from. "Wait! You can still stay. I mean really, I need a friend out here…and I get a feeling that you need a friend that understands you and your, uh, parent issues out here as well…." He broke off, uncertain if he should continue or not.

She turned back to look at him, even as the clouds suddenly moved away from the moon. Ray blinked rapidly as he looked at her, amazement flooding him. She was wearing a longer tunic shirt than what men typically wore that was an ocean blue color, and a pair of sea green breeches that hugged her lean legs. She lifted a hand up and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her hair.

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

Ray smiled, feeling very good about this little chance meeting. "Positive. Though I just realized that I don't know your name."

"Maya." She walked back over and sat back down carefully, eyeing him nervously.

"Name's Ray." Sticking his hand out for her to shake, he suddenly had a very ridiculous idea pop in his head. "How would you like to learn how to fight?"

"Seriously?!" Maya squealed excitedly, before foregoing the shake for a hug. "Yes!"

Ray chuckled to himself as he hugged her back. He certainly hadn't expected to find a friend clear out here in the middle of a war.

 **A/N: Done! Um, yeah. They have yet to figure out each other's true positions in the war…as in the whole royalty thing. And Ray just promised Maya that he'll teach her how to fight! How exciting! Hope you all enjoyed this little tidbit!**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Laughter is the Best Medicine….

~One Year Later~

Ray slipped his extra sword, which was shorter than his broadsword that he usually uses, around to block the clumsy blow aimed immaturely at him. Grinning, he turned to face his opponent, glad that he had tampered with his swords so that both of them were blunt months ago. "Nice one Maya. You're getting better."

Maya titled her head to the side as she planted his sword tip first into the ground. "You really think so Ray?"

Ray nodded in agreement, not for the first time glad that he had volunteered to teach her the year before. Maya was a fast learner, and eager to pick up anything he had to teach her. "Of course. For only working on the sword for a few weeks you are improving much faster than most knights."

Maya blushed, her feet taking a small step back. The last year for the two friends had brought some changes to them, though not much. Maya was still a young beauty, though she had grown some and was wearing a new wool dress that was the same blue as her eyes, bringing them out even more. Her arms which had been the typical thin arms of a young girl were now covered in hard lean muscles and calluses covered her hands now instead of them being perfectly smooth like when they first met.

Ray had also grown several inches and was wearing a simple brown tunic with matching breeches and a pair of new black boots. He had also gained some more muscles, and like Maya it wasn't as noticeable to others that didn't know he was sneaking out twice a week to workout with the enemy.

The twosome were lightly panting, a small tinkle of sweat slipping down the side of their faces. When they had started out both of them by now would be aching and doubled over gasping for breath. Now they were barely winded.

"Do you want to move onto the bow Ray?" Maya leaned against the sword, making a strange picture with the weapon and her dress.

Ray nodded in agreement, before hurrying over to where he had stashed Firebolt and his weapons. "Of course. Maybe this time I can outshoot you."

"Never." Maya laughed as she pulled the sword up and handed it to him.

Ray chuckled as he accepted the weapon, slipping it back into its sheath. Grasping the long bow that was a birthday present from his father shortly before he was sent away to fight in the war, he held it out to her. "Ladies first." He gave her a mock bow, not for the first time grateful that he had yet to tell her who he was to his people.

Maya smiled cheekily at him as she accepted the bow. Leaning past him, she collected a couple of arrows. "Thank you." She moved swiftly to the shooting line they had drawn the year before and slipped into position. Aiming the weapon, she fired off the two arrows quickly. Both of them slammed into the middle of the target that Ray had set up for her first lesson all those months ago.

Ray sighed, before snagging two more arrows and walking over to her. Holding his hand out for his bow, he nodded to the target. "Very nice…again. Can't you miss on purpose so I can win for once?"

Maya hummed as she pretended to think about it as she handed him the bow. A smirk crossed her face as she took a step back. "Nope. Wouldn't be as much fun as beating you."

Ray stuck his tongue out at her, before stringing up his arrow and firing it at the target. As was expected, the arrow hit slightly below the center of the target where he wanted it. Scowling, he raised it up a little and fired off his second one. It hit the edge of the top of the target. "Oh, come on!"

Maya burst out laughing as she leaned against a large protruding rock, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Still can't hit it, can you Ray?"

"Not funny Maya…" The fourteen year old mumbled under his breath as he marched over to grab the arrows.

Maya pressed a hand against her mouth to try and stifle her laughter. "But it is funny! You've been using the bow longer than me and you still can't it the target square in the middle while I can!"

Ray rolled his eyes, before scooping something up and throwing it at her suddenly. A yelp of surprise escaped his first true friend as the pine cone hit her lightly in the shoulder. Glaring at him, she grabbed another fallen pine cone and threw it as hard as she could. Ray dodged in hopes of avoiding it…but didn't see her anticipate that and throw another one that hit him in the forehead.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Ray protested as he snagged up a handful.

Maya rolled her eyes as she lifted another up in the position to throw it. "Says the guy that didn't give me any warning!"

A few minutes, and close to a thousand flying pine cones, later, the two friends collapsed to the ground in two giggling heaps. Maya sighed with content as she looked up at the night sky that was twinkling above them. "Do you think that this war will ever be over with Ray?"

Ray sighed as he rolled over onto his back. "I honestly don't know Maya. I wish there was a peaceful way to solve whatever this conflict is about."

Maya frowned as she realized that he had a point, no one knew what it was that the people of Feu had done to spark a war between the two countries. "Maybe we should ask our rulers to better explain why we have the war in the first place and maybe have them talk it out." A smirk crossed her face as she turned to face Ray. "Is that peaceful enough for you?"

Ray laughed, a smile crossing his features as he relaxed against the cold ground. "Oh yeah…that would be plenty peaceful for me! But knowing King Michael he'll come with an entire army and be fully armed and if your king so much as sneezes he'll take it as a threat to his people."

Maya giggled as she tried to imagine how the king of Feu, whom she never met, would look like with an army backing him up and carrying so many weapons that he needed help to walk. Her face then fell as she realized that her own father would do the same thing, he didn't trust the Feu at all as is.

A disappointed sigh escaped her as she looked back up at the sky. "King Alfonso will just do the same thing. This war will only end if someone takes over the thrones and thinks it is completely pointless."

Ray glanced over at her, and decided right there and then, that he would find a way for both of them to live their dreams…someday.

 **A/N: Done! Um, yeah. One year later, and their making jokes at each others' expense…then again apparently Ray is a horrible shot. I was going to update this tomorrow but hey! I have plenty of time to write an entire chapter today apparently. Maya is improving on her swords play, and they get into pine cone fights easily… I wonder if that is like a snowball fight?**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Too many Guards leads to Drastic Measures…

~Four Years Later~

~With Ray~

Ray hummed to himself as he laced his boots up, his mind moving to the fact that in a couple of days, well, nights, he would see Maya again. He wasn't entirely sure what the change was…he just knew that recently their relationship had changed. Just how did it change, he had no idea whatsoever. Springing back to his feet, he walked to the tent flap, throwing it open, expecting to see one guard on duty while day to day life thrummed through the camp.

Instead he froze upon seeing ten guards on duty and everyone hugely skirting around his private tent (Richard was sent home earlier that year due to a family emergency). "What's going on here!?"

He winced as he realized he sounded like a spoiled snobby prince right then. General Warstin walked over, a beaming smile on his face. "Ah! Your highness…as you can see here, your father has ordered that since your eighteenth birthday is coming up, that we should increase your protection. Oh don't worry, more guards are on their way as we speak. We were able to triple our numbers last night while you were sleeping. Do you need anything?"

Ray crossed his arms, his left eyebrow shooting upwards. "And why per se, would my age depict how many guards surround me at a given time during a war zone?"

"Didn't you spend your entire childhood learning how as Crown Prince you are expected to provide an heir when you're older? Eighteen is the legal age for someone of your rank to get married at. Once your birthday comes, you'll be sent back home to pick a bride out of all of the lovely ladies back at the capital."

 _In other words, no more Maya._ Ray felt his heart sink, and his mind whirling like crazy. He knew he had been out here for years, yet being reminded that he was almost _that_ age made him realize just how long he's been here. He came when he was barely thirteen, only knowing the basics of fighting. He had pretended to know even less than what he actually did to stay in the back of the fighting, though his spars with Maya have taught him and improved his fighting abilities as well as hers. "I think I'll go lay down for a minute. I…don't quite feel well." Ray fibbed, knowing that his title will keep the General from pestering him if he believed he was ill.

Ray slipped back into his tent, crashing down onto the cot hard. This wasn't good. He made a promise to himself that they would live their dreams out…and his included not being his parents puppet for much longer.

~With Maya~

Maya peeked outside, noticed once again the amount of guards in the camp appeared to have doubled, and ducked back into her private tent. For the past two years, a new squad of soldiers would appear overnight…with the sole purpose of convincing her to come back to the capital so as to find herself a groom worthy of her. Truthfully, she had no interest in getting married just yet. And besides that, what would she tell Ray if she could see him one last time before leaving? She most definitely didn't want to leave him behind.

"Princess Maya? Your father, King Alfonso requests your presence back home immediately." One of the soldiers, possibly the squad leader, called through the tent flap.

Maya rolled her eyes skyward, fingers deftly braiding her hair. "Tell him that I am perfectly capable of going back when I want to. Which is not right now!" She hated to sound like a spoiled brat, but she honestly didn't want to go home tonight…or any night for that matter.

Silence fell outside the tent, signaling that the guard was gone; most likely complaining to his superior about her attitude. She just needed to hold out till she can see Ray again. How hard could that be?

~With Ray, night of their planned meeting~

Ray bit his bottom lip as he slipped unnoticed out of the military camp. He was getting close enough to _THAT_ age that the guards at the camp have tripled every day….with a rumor that more were on their way. Ducking down low, he slid unseen into the empty creek, sticking to the shadows.

His heart pounded loudly in his chest as he looked over to the other side of the creek; just in time for a slender figure appear, slipping quietly into the creek as well. Sucking a deep breath in to steady his nerves, he waited patiently for her to get close enough to see her clearly before he blurt out his crazy plan that he had came up with.

"Will you run away with me!?" Ray watched Maya's reaction closely, his heart falling upon seeing the shocked look on her face.

Shaking her head, she crouched next to him, her left eyebrow lifting upwards. "Estas loco. Why would I do that?"

Ray shrugged, feeling his hope diminish with her response. "I just thought… my parents won't approve of you since, ya know. Opposite sides of the war and all. Please Maya?"

Maya smiled as she reached over and touched his shoulder gently. "I still stand by what I said. You are crazy. But…. I agree with you. My father will have a meltdown if I so much as mention that I was interested in you. How soon can we leave?"

Ray paused, trying to recall the ever growing tighter schedule for the guards to check up on him…make sure that he was still in one piece. "Tomorrow. Same time that we usually meet up. I'm not sure where we can go to hide from the war though…"

Maya frowned, her nose scrunching up as she seriously thought about what he was pointing out. "I have heard some sailors say that there is another country besides our two kingdoms. It is across the ocean, far from here."

"Wonderful. We will leave to this country of yours as soon as feasible." Ray paused, before scratching the back of his neck. "M'lady, what exactly is this new country called. Do you know?"

"Ninjago."

~Next Evening….with Maya~

Maya rubbed her horse's soft nose, leaning in to breathe her scent. She had ever so carefully packed what she dared, mainly traveling clothes, under the pretense that she was finally willing to go back to the capital and fulfill her princess duties… they were to leave first thing in the morning. She glanced up her eyes darting to the large war horses grazing nearby. Her jealousy over the fact she didn't have one had ended when Ray had allowed her to ride Firebolt for the fun of it. Now it wasn't unusual for them to go for midnight runs on each others' horses. A neigh escaped her horse as the mare nudged her gently.

"Things are gonna be a little different after tonight Maribelle." She patted her horse one last time, before slipping away to go get some much needed sleep. After all, who knew when the next time she actually could get some sleep was going to happen.

 **A/N: Done! Um, yeah… next chapter they will be out on the road…by themselves…headed to a country that Maya only ever heard spoken of in stories. Anyone else seriously hope that they can find it before anything bad happens to them? Let's just say I went with T for a reason…**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Probably Should Have Thought This Through First…

Ray groaned as he forced his eyes open. He was lying inside of a makeshift shelter, with a warm weight on his chest. It took him a minute to realize what said weight was…and then his face turned bright red. If he had thought Maya was beautiful when she was awake, she was drop dead gorgeous asleep. Her hair fell over his chest as she slept soundly, using his chest as a pillow.

Ray bit his bottom lip as he wondered what he should do. He cared for her, he really did, but he wanted to get married before having an intimidate relationship. Apparently when they stopped for the night they forgot to consider that and set up camp accordingly. Sighing, he gently shook her shoulder. "Maya? Maya? Come on…you need to wake up…"

A soft groan escaped the sleeping beauty as she turned her head just slightly. "Five more minutes Padre…"

"Maya…we can't stay here. We need to leave now, before guards are sent after us. Come on…" Ray diligently continued to shake her awake.

Maya groaned, but begrudgingly got up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Ray could still feel that his face was on fire due to the close contact they had been sleeping in, and he could only pray that Maya didn't notice. She looked up at him…and immediately turned bright red upon realizing how close they were to each other. "Ray…"

"Don't apologize. We both goofed. Come on. We need to get going. Think I can pass as a mute or something?" Ray questioned her as he began to roll up their sleeping gear.

Maya frowned, confused about what he meant by that. "What do you mean?"

Ray arched his left eyebrow upwards, as if it were obvious. "To get to Ninjago, we are going to need a boat. To get that, we need to go to Agua. I don't know your native tongue…."

Maya widened her eyes in surprise, before whispering to him worriedly. "Don't you have boats in Feu?"

Ray shook his head as he strapped the gear onto Firebolt. "No. We don't even have fishing vessels."

Maya frowned, realizing that he had a point. He didn't know her native tongue and that was a huge sign that he wasn't from her home country. "How about we say that you are just shy? I know it isn't that believable…but it is better than to have the so called enemy caught deep in our land." Maya left out the problem that would arise over the fact that he was with her of all people.

Ray sighed, before nodding in agreement again. A frown crossed his face as he pulled out a small coin bag and peered into it. "I don't have much money…and we will be needing supplies… and I am sure that the ship will have a fee… and we will be wanting to have actual beds when we are in town."

Maya groaned as she realized that he was right, quickly pulling out her coin bag to check it. "Not much here either. I'm sorry… maybe if I had never mentioned Ninjago…"

"Don't be. It was my idea to run away. I will take full responsibility." Ray stopped her, even as he shoved his money back into the saddlebag. "We just need to learn to be resourceful is all." Ray's eyes landed on the bow and quiver full of arrows he had with him. "We can hunt and forage for our own food when we are out of town. If we get too low on our money, we can find and do odd jobs to earn money."

Maya relaxed slightly, nodding to herself in agreement. "I know the art of medicine now. I can claim to be a traveling healer."

Ray nodded in agreement, relief flashing through him as he watched her swing up onto Firebolt. "Yes. We can do that. Also… how about you teach me some basics in your native tongue. How does that sound?"

"Sounds wonderful. Oh…and might I say hola." Maya nudged Firebolt into a brisk trot, while Ray leaped onto Maribelle, kicking her into a brisk trot as well.

"Hola?" Ray questioned after his friend, confused.

"Yes. It means hello." Maya giggled to herself. Ray rolled his eyes, figuring that he had asked for that.

….

Maya pouted as they neared the first town, quickly swapping horses around. It wouldn't make sense to anyone to see a young woman riding on a warhorse and a young man riding on a gentle mare. Ray clicked his tongue, sending Firebolt into a gentle slow trot, nothing near as hurried as earlier. Upon entering the town, Ray politely nodded to everyone that said hola, but refrained from speaking too much. Maya pulled Maribelle up to an inn, sliding off of her gracefully. Ray pulled up next to her, and jumped down with practiced ease, glancing around the place for any sign of trouble.

The two of them handed a coin each to the stable boy that was standing there gawking at them, mainly Maya though Ray didn't know this. Maya walked confidently into the inn and approached the bar. "Señora, nos gustaría dos de sus mejores habitaciones. Preferiblemente cerca uno del otro."

The landlady that was wiping down the bar blinked rapidly, before bowing her head to Maya out of respect. Ray wondered what it was that Maya had said, though he couldn't be so sure since he didn't know the language. "Por supuesto princesa Lo pondré en la pestaña de tu padre, el rey."

"Gracias señora." Maya nodded in relief, glad to get that taken care of.

The landlady nodded to Ray, who instantly tensed up. "Tu guardia parece estar muy callada. ¿Está todo bien con él?"

Maya nodded as she spoke quietly. "Sí. Él es simplemente tímido y soy capaz de manejar nuestra situación."

The landlady nodded, before yelling out a name. A servant girl scurried over, looking highly bewildered. "Rosa, dos de nuestras mejores habitaciones para la princesa y su guardia. Pronto."

"Si perder." She dipped in a curtsy, before hurrying off to prepare the rooms.

…..

Ray wanted to relax…he really did, but there was a slight problem. They didn't have much money and the room he was in was clearly one of the nicer ones. There was a knock on the door, drawing his attention away from his worry about cost.

Maya stood in the doorway, a smile on her face. "Don't worry about the cost. The landlady here knows my father. The bill is being sent to him."

"Great…just what I need. Your old man knowing we're here." Ray mumbled under his breath, worry creasing his brow.

Maya sighed, before wrapping her arms around herself. "The rooms come with a free meal. Let's eat and sleep in actual beds tonight. Tomorrow we can discuss things more as we travel."

Ray nodded in agreement, his stomach grumbling at the thought of hot, home cooked, food. "Ok then."

 **A/N: Done! Soo, yeah. They need to be careful with their money… and Maya is using her title to get them pretty nice deals at the first inn they come upon. She won't do it for every single inn, and they won't be staying in a nice town every night. When they are in town, the locals most likely won't know any English, so Maya will be speaking in Spanish a lot. Which means that unless you have Google translate ready, you will be as lost as Ray reading this. Eh, I don't actually know Spanish so any mistakes you find there will be all Google's fault.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Danger Lurks Around the Corner…

Ray tightened his grip on the reins, eyeing a group of men that appeared a smidgen too interested in him and Maya. They were leaving the town they had spent the night in, riding their own horses instead f each others. Maya glanced over at the men, worry creasing her brow. "We need to be extra careful. The uniform those men are wearing mark them as part of the royal guard. The royal elite guard to be more precise. They know some of this language…but not all of it. Chances are they have no clue what it is we're talking about."

Ray nodded nervously, eyeing the men even more tensely than he had before. If they figured out that he was supposed to be one of the enemies… pushing the negative thoughts to the back of his mind, he spurred Firebolt forward. "Well then…let's not give them something to be concerned about."

Maya tensely nodded. Glad that he had chosen to whisper his response, but worried that the men already believed that something was up. She was supposed to be traveling with the royal guard…not a young man that clearly wasn't a member of the guard. Pushing her thoughts to the back of her head, she followed him obediently…ish. She was more interested in getting to Ninjago than appearing to be the perfect young lady.

….

Maya stood up in the stirrups, stretching as she twisted around. She was now on top of Firebolt…and loving it. Sighing with content, she dropped back into the saddle, just as Ray pulled up next to her, nodding his head towards a thick grove of trees. "Let's take a small break over there. No one will be able to see us over there in the grove. And with how thick the foliage is, I suspect we might be able to find some fresh water for the horses there."

Maya nodded in understanding, before nudging Firebolt to head over there. Once she as in the trees, she noticed that she could indeed hear the sound of a tinkling stream, and quickly headed in that direction. Once there, she slid off of her burrowed horse and set it loose. Firebolt happily began to lap up the much needed water. Maribelle soon joined him, the gentle mare a smidgen too used to the presence of the calm war horse.

Ray walked over and plopped down in an undignified way onto the ground. "Soo, what else do we need to discuss? We, at least, I know how to hunt and forage for food, shouldn't be hard to teach you how to do that so I won't be by myself….and we have enough with us to build two small shelters each night…so we don't have to uh…" Ray turned bright red, as thoughts of their first morning on the road filled his mind.

Maya realized what he was thinking about and blushed as well, nodding quickly. "Yes…yes. That's good. Um, we do have problems of uh, you know…bandits. Maybe we should while we are stopped practice are skills? And maybe see about sharpening them in case we need to use them in an emergency."

Ray winced at that, wishing it was just that that was the problem. "True…but if we do that…then we need practice swords so that we don't indeed up cutting each other or using sticks since that would hinder us in an emergency."

Maya blinked, confused about what he meant by that. "What do you mean by that?"

Ray ran his hand over his face, his mind reeling. "I mean that as in we would get used to the weight of the sticks and then we won't be able to adjust to the weight of the sword when an emergency pops up."

"Oh…can we still practice our skills?" Maya shifted slightly, settling in the grass next to him.

Ray bit his bottom lip for half a second, before nodding. "It won't hurt anything. And we might be able to at least disarm our enemies even if our swords are dull."

He grabbed his two swords and handed one to Maya. Maya accepted the sword and quickly got in position to spar with him. Ray smiled as he shifted into the same position, glad to have something to do right now other than stretch his legs and maybe eat a little something for lunch.

….

Ray wished that he could rewind time back to that afternoon. He didn't even try to hide it as he felt all color flee from his face. A group of rough bandits had them completely surrounded, shard, jagged swords in their hands. The leader barked something out, his voice making the hairs on the back of Ray's neck stand on end. "Deténgase allí ... vacíe todos sus objetos de valor. ¡Vamos, no te tomes todo el día! ¡Esto es un robo después de todo!"

Maya shifted slightly on Firebolt, her voice firm as she responded to his demands. "¡No tenemos nada de valor! Por favor dejanos pasar!"

The bandit leader snorted, lifting his sword up slightly. "No estás engañando a nadie ... muchacha rica. Entregue el tesoro y veremos cómo dejar ir a su compañero."

Maya paled at whatever he had said, before turning to face Ray. "We have a problem…he wants all of our valuables…in this case money…and he won't take no for an answer."

Ray bit his bottom lip upon hearing that, his mind now whirling with a thousand pointless escape plans. None of which would work. He could suggest she use the swords that Firebolt carried…but they most likely would kill her before that could happen. And they would definitely kill him before they could escape. The only one that made sense was that… but no. He didn't want her to know about his bloodline…and only those with royal blood could do it anyways. Growling to himself, he decided to see if they couldn't fib their way out of this situation. "Tell them that I am a great sorcerer and they do not want to mess with me."

"Mi compañero es un gran hechicero y no quieres meterte con él." Maya was sweating slightly from having to lie about his abilities.

Apparently they didn't believe her, as they muttered something to each other, before launching forward, swinging a sword right at Ray. Ray groaned, before summoning fire ability, scorching the air around him to the point where the bandits whirled away screeching, all except that of their leader.

Snarling, he kept pressing forward, forcing Ray to lean over and grab one of their swords, hoping that the heat from the fire surrounding him wouldn't accidently melt the metal. "Maya… get out of here now!"

The bandit leader hissed as he swung his sword forward, his voice making Ray's heart thud loudly. "¿Maya? ¿No es ese el nombre de la _princesa_?"

 **A/N: Done! Oops… uh…here's a cliffhanger! So, do you think Maya actually fled for her safety like he told her to…or stayed behind to help? Oh! Who do you think will win the fight, Ray or the bandit? Also, maybe saying Maya's name is not the smartest move he could have possibly done…**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: It's Maya… since when is 'run' in her Vocabulary?

Ray swung his sword in an arch, catching the blade from the Bandit's sword on the edge. Narrowing his eyes, he sent burning flames towards the bandit, attempting to push him back. Really, he should have realized that wouldn't work. Grunting with the effort, and sweating profusely already, the bandit sliced his sword into the flesh of Ray's arm, causing him to both, drop the flames that were heating the air up, and stumble backwards with a cry of pain. Blood oozed out of the injury, causing his eyes to widen in horror.

Before he could figure out a new plan of attack, one that didn't involve him using his dominant arm… an angry screech filled the air as another sword darted into his peripheral vision. Only instead of attacking him, it disarmed the startled bandit.

"Maya! I told you to get out of here!" Ray roared at his best friend as he struggled to get his sword's bearing in his left hand.

Maya growled low in her throat as she tore into the bandit. "Sorry… run isn't a word that I know!"

Ray questioned his sanity briefly for ever liking her, before stepping forward and helping her push the bandit and his friends further back. "¡Oye! Mi nombre podría ser Maya ... ¡pero no soy un destructor de princesas!"

The bandit appeared startled to hear her say that, muttering something to his buddies. "Tenemos que salir de aquí ... ¡¿desde cuándo peleaban las _chicas_ ?!" They scurried off quickly, glancing back at the two travelers as darted off, nearly tripping over each other and random roots growing out on the road.

Ray shook his head, instantly regretting it as his head spun suddenly. Groaning, he pressed a hand to his head. Right…he never fought while using his powers before… and definitely not when he was in a prime position to get cut open! He glanced over at Maya, smiling ruefully at her. "Thanks…I needed the assistance."

Maya frowned as she looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm…" Ray never finished his sentence, his body shutting down right then.

….

"…Idiota por dejarte lastimar tan mal. ¿Pero me dejaste ayudar de inmediato? ¡No! Él tenía que ser el héroe ..." Ray could barely make out the muttering coming from a fuming Maya, her voice sounding muffled.

Forcing his eyes open, he noted that he appeared to be in some sort of camp…at least he presumed it was a camp due to him lying on his bedroll inside of a makeshift shelter. Pushing himself upright, he winced when pain surged through his arm where it was sliced open earlier. Lifting a hand up, he pressed it against the injury…only to discover that it was tightly bandaged and cleaned. Startled, he glanced down to see that wasn't the only thing that had changed while he was out of it. His tunic from earlier was missing, leaving him bare-chested. Groaning, he nearly flopped back down when he realized that he had no idea what it was that Maya was muttering on about.

Struggling to his feet, he slipped outside to find that dusk had fallen and a small campfire was already going. The horses were tethered nearby, quietly grazing. Maya was pacing around the campfire, still muttering the same thing over and over again. Clearing his throat, he leaned against a nearby tree. "Maya…is something wrong?"

Maya snapped her head up to look at him, her face suddenly a bright red as her gaze locked onto his chest. "Uh…no." She turned her head away as she sighed, her fingers twitching slightly. "How are you doing?"

"Better. I really believe that there has to be something wrong for you to be muttering all the way out here." Ray crossed his arms, trying to look as if he was being stubborn when in reality he was just cold.

Maya groaned, running her fingers through her hair as she looked over at him. "After you passed out I loaded you onto Maribelle and brought you over here. Uh…. The bandits came back and took off with all of our money, as well as my bedroll and anything that we could use to make a second tent. They would have taken Firebolt but I stopped them with a quick arrow in one of their arms." Taking in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. "Also… the sword that bandit was using was dipped in poison. I had to get into my medicinal herbs and create an antidote for you. Also…YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" She slapped him hard on his good arm.

"Me?! What did I do!?" Ray stumbled back slightly out of surprise.

Maya was just about in tears as she buried her face into her hands. "You didn't have me help you from the beginning… and now look at the mess we're in!"

Ray sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, his mind reeling. "Um…ok. So we're not off to the best of starts… could be worse. They could have taken our weapons." Maya winced at that, nibbling her bottom lip. Ray felt his heart sink as he looked at her. "They took our weapons didn't they?"

"We still have our bow, and a few arrows…and the small sword. But everything else is gone. What are we going to do?" Maya wrung her hands nervously.

Ray rolled his eyes as he walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Maya…calm down. Remember what I said about finding ways to provide for ourselves and save money for the trip yesterday morning? We can still do that."

Maya swallowed hard, before speaking softly. "Last week."

Ray blinked, confused. "What about last week?"

Maya nibbled her bottom lip, glancing off to the side, before turning to face him. "Ray…you said that last week. You've been in a fever induced coma for the past week."

Ray blinked slowly, suddenly feeling very dizzy. "We…we lost a whole week?!"

Maya nodded her head, anxiety flaring up in her eyes. "Yes. Ray…what do we do?"

Ray struggled to calm his rapidly beating heart as he sank down on a log that was propped up near the campfire. "We keep going. We already made our decision. We just keep going." He whispered softly to himself, holding his head in his hands.

Maya sat down next to him, hugging herself tightly. "Just keep going…yeah…that makes sense."

 **A/N: Done! Um, yeah. All of that happened. And that is one way to do a time skip. Have the character not realize there's been a time skip. Basically anything of value was taken by the bandits. Minus the horses. Maya managed to savage their food and medicinal supplies… but not everything. The next little while real be Ray discovering exactly how much they lost to the bandits.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: A Second Opinion…

Ray rubbed his inured arm, wishing the pain would go away. It has now been two weeks since he had woken up from his fever induced coma, and it wasn't easy going. Apparently they were days away from any civilization beyond the one that they had recently left, and even then they couldn't turn back for fear of being caught.

Maya shifted in her saddle, fingers tightening around the reins. "We're coming up on a city…I think we should skirt around it."

Ray blinked; surprised that she would say that. She had been grumbling about how the lack of healing on his part was worrisome and she wanted a second healer's opinion. For to say that she wanted to avoid the first sign of civilization was not something he expected her to do. "You feeling ok there Maya?"

"Yes." She tersely responded, eyeing the road up ahead of her.

Ray frowned, before shaking his head. "Maya… I know you. Something is bothering…why do you not want to go to this city?"

Maya hesitated, before speaking up, her voice low. "There are people there who will recognize me and alert my father on my whereabouts. I rather avoid that."

"But you also want to get a second opinion. The sooner we do that, the better." Ray calmly pointed out, wincing as his injury was jarred again.

Maya sighed as she looked over at him. "I know that…but there is no way we can find someone here without me getting recognized."

Ray frowned, shifting in his seat. Finally, he sighed as he dug into his saddlebags and pulled out a simple brown cloak. "Wear this. Pull the hood up over your head. No one should recognize you if you hide your face."

Maya glared at him, before muttering under her breath. "Odio cuando tienes razón ..."

Ray grinned, despite not knowing what it was that she had just said. "Thank you. I think."

Maya rolled her eyes, before pulling the hood up. "Come on…we need to…" She suddenly froze, all color fleeing her face. Lurching to the side, she emptied the contents of her stomach on the side of the road.

Ray reached over and pulled her hair back, concern flooding him. "Are you alright Maya? This is the third time this week alone that you suddenly thrown up. You're not sick, are you?"

Maya shook her head, shakily wiping at her mouth. "I'm fine… let's just get moving. The sooner we find a healer the better."

…

Apparently when Maya says that a place is a city… she means it. Ray couldn't help but eye everything like an awestruck fool, despite being raised in the capitol city back home. The streets were overly crowded and filthy and everyone was yelling over the top of each other because it was so loud.

Shaking his head in amazement, he followed Maya over to a random woman that was busy trying to rien in about six different small children. "Disculpe, señorita, pero ¿puede decirme dónde puedo encontrar un sanador en estas partes?"

The woman pointed down the street, her voice raised slightly. "¡Sí! Sólo por esa calle de allí. ¡No te lo puedes perder! Enorme castaño en el frente."

Maya nodded in confirmation, turning her horse in the direction that she pointed in. "¡Gracias!"

Ray continued to follow Maya dutifully, wincing as pain shot through his arm. "I hope that this healer can help us…" He muttered under his breath, low enough that no one would notice what he just said.

Maya pressed her lips together, before locating the building with the large chestnut tree in front of it. Surprisingly enough there was only one on the entire street that matched that description. Sliding off of their horses, they quickly tied them to a low hanging branch. Pulling her hood further down her face, Maya pushed the door open.

"¿Perdóneme? ¿Hay alguien en casa? Me dijeron que había un sanador aquí y que mi amiga necesita ayuda ..."Maya timidly called out.

A gentle, feminine voice hollered back to them, her voice light. "¡Sí! ¡Sí! Por favor entra! ¡Estaré allí en un minuto!"

Maya nodded, despite not seeing the healer, before turning to face Ray. "Try not to speak too much. This is our real test on whether or not we can pass you off as shy."

Ray nodded in understanding, before leaning against the doorframe. Pain surged through his arm, making him quickly straightened back out. An elderly woman walked into the room from the back, humming to herself. "¿Cuál es el problema con tu amigo aquí?"

Maya gestured to Ray, her voice low as she explained the situation. "Fuimos atacados por bandidos. Mi amigo, él es tímido, así que no esperes que diga mucho, fue apuñalado en el brazo por una espada sumergida en veneno de sangre de fuego. Soy un sanador en entrenamiento e hice lo que pude por él ... pero han pasado dos semanas y no parece estar sanando. ¿Hay algo más que necesitamos hacer?"

"Ah ... una segunda opinión." The healer gestured for Ray to come sit on a chair where she could easily look at his injury. Ray dutifully sat down, and quickly pulled his shirt off so as to allow her to easily access his injury. A hum escaped her as she unwound the bandage peering at the injury. Shaking her head, she turned to face Maya. "Él está bien. El veneno de sangre del fuego retarda el proceso de curación, incluso cuando lo cuidas. Sin embargo, debes tener un don para la curación. Con el período de tiempo que me diste y hasta qué punto ha curado la lesión, se ha curado más rápido de lo que podría curarme. Dale tiempo. Todo va a estar bien. ¿Algo más que pueda hacer por ti?"

Maya looked amazed, nodding her head in understanding. Sinking down into another chair in the room, she glanced over at Ray. "She says that you are fine and to give it more time. She also wants to know what else she can do for us. Honestly, I think we just need to figure out how to repay her and leave."

Ray quickly shakes his head. "What about you? You've been throwing up lately."

Maya wrinkled her nose, before turning to the healer, gesturing to Ray. "Mi amigo está preocupado por mi salud. Últimamente he estado vomitando mucho, aunque no muestro ninguna otra señal de estar enfermo. Creo que él solo está siendo ridículo."

The healer, hummed again, moving to press a hand on her forehead. "Sin fiebre ..." She froze, understanding flooding in her eyes. "¿Tienes hambre? ¿Algo suena bien?"

Maya frowned, confusion crossing her features. "Bueno, sí. Y me encantaría un poco de chocolate ... ¿qué tiene eso que ver con el hecho de que he estado vomitando?"

The healer smiled, clearly pleased about something as she responded to Maya's question. "Estás embarazada." All color fled from Maya's face again, though Ray had a bad feeling that it wasn't because she was about to lose her lunch…

 **A/N: Done! Any guesses on what it was that is wrong with Maya? Hint: Nya isn't alone…**

 **So anyways, love to read your reviews. Soo, you know…**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Guess who's a Daddy….

Ray poked at the campfire they made in the middle of their new camp, wondering what it was that the healer had told Maya that afternoon. "Maya… are you sure you don't want to tell me what's wrong?"

Maya nervously sliced the bread and cheese they had, looking everywhere but at him. "Nada está mal ... solo que estamos a punto de convertirnos en padres en otros nueve meses."

Ray groaned as he stopped what he was doing to turn to look at her. "Maya…you know I don't know Spanish…"

Maya groaned, before muttering something under her breath. "Demasiado terco ... Necesito tiempo para ajustarme a esto primero." Taking in a deep breath to steady herself, she braced herself for the confrontation she was sure would happen when she confessed what was going on to him. "How do you feel about being a father?"

Ray was immediately confused. What did that have to do with whatever was wrong with her? "Well, I certainly would love to be a father one of these days. Obviously now is not that day, why do you ask?"

Maya bit her bottom lip, torn for being relieved that he didn't catch on and nervous on the fact that she apparently had to be a bit more blunt on the matter. "Ray… I meant that as in you _are_ going to be a father…in a few months." Picking up the bread and cheese she sliced, she offered some to Ray. "Dinner?"

Ray however was breathing rapidly, his eyes round with horror. "Dinner?! Who can think of eating at a time like this?!"

Maya rolled her eyes as she sat down, carefully picking up her serving of bread and lifting it to her lips. "Apparently I can. This changes nothing Ray. Just chill. I'm not far enough along for anyone to notice and we still have a long ways ahead of us. We can handle this, if you please calm down and eat your dinner."

Ray gawked at her as if she were crazy, before sitting down next to her, quietly eating his portion of the meal, eyeing her nervously as if he expected her to go into labor any second now. Maya groaned, vaguely wondering how this revelation was going to affect the rest of their travels.

…

Maya gritted her teeth as she fired off the arrow, killing the rabbit instantly. "You can stop breathing down my neck Ray. I'm the better shooter out of the two of us, so it makes sense for, me to hunt for some more food."

It has been three weeks sense they had found out about her condition, and Ray was constantly fusing over her. The last town they came upon, just two days ago, had a couple of odd end jobs that needed done and they were able to procure some money that way. Ray however, was overly concerned on her health, and whether or not they would be able to get enough money for three people to travel by boat and not just two. Shaking her head, she walked over and collected the now dead rabbit, quickly tying it together with the rest of her recent kills. Walking over, she tossed them on top of Firebolt, who didn't react to having dead animals loaded on top of him like a common work animal.

Ray, who for once was uncharacteristically silent, sighed as he led Maribelle to follow her. "Maya, I am just concerned for your health… I mean, what if you're overdoing it and it harms the baby?"

"I am not overdoing it! Confía en mí que conozco mis límites!" Maya snapped in her native tongue, bristling ever so slightly.

Ray took a step back, looking briefly uneasy, before shaking his head. "Come on. You said that there is a good sized city coming up that would pay good money for all of this?"

"Sí. Unless things have changed drastically since I was last here." Maya nodded in confirmation, before leading the way back down the road.

Ray rubbed his face, a frown crossing his features as he noted that he now had a rather thick beard covering his features. Shaking his head, he urged Maribelle forward, quickly catching up with Maya and FIrebolt.

Maya shifted slightly, pulling out a handful of berries that they had picked the other day, shoving them into her mouth as her stomach grumbled with hunger. Ray fidgeted slightly as he, not for the first time, tried to wrap everything that they hadn't expected to encounter…that they now had to live with.

…

It was three hours later when they finally approached the large city. Maya expertly navigated the streets, leading the way to the butcher shop. Once there, she acted as the talkative friend while he was the shy one again and they sold the ten small animals that she had killed for a good deal of money. Their good luck ended there. Since the whole money was stolen thing, they have always camped outside of the towns and cities that they passed through. So imagine their surprise when they found out that the gates here closed for the night at a certain time…and they missed their chance to slip back out of the city to make camp.

"Great…now what do we do?" Maya hugged herself, making sure that her burrowed cloak was pulled low over her face.

Ray frowned as he stared up at the sky, too exhausted to try and figure out if there was a way to convince the guards to let them through. "We just have to find a cheap inn for the night. Only get one room. I'll bring in the bedroll and sleep on the floor while you take the bed. And when I say cheap…I mean cheap. We don't have the money to spare."

Maya nodded in understanding, wishing she knew of a cheap place. "This might take awhile…"

…..

Five and a half hours later, she finally found an inn in their limited budget. Ray winced when he noticed the roughly hewn bed with a single, equally rough blanket tossed lazily over the top. "If you want to trade with me…. I think the floor is more comfortable than that old thing."

Shaking her head, Maya sank down on the bed. "Sorry Ray. But the idea of me sleeping on the floor while you sleep on the bed is just not happening. Besides that, the gentlemen are supposed to let the ladies have the bed. Didn't your mother teach you anything?"

Ray gritted his teeth in annoyance. His parents didn't teach him a thing. They had hired various private tutors to teach him everything…including how to walk and talk. "Yes…I was taught that." Sighing, he unrolled the bedroll. "Night Maya."

"Night Ray…" Maya was out like a light within seconds.

 **A/N: Done! Um, yeah… Ray is now overly protective of Maya and she hates that. They are also trapped temporarily in a city and are trying to be stingy with their money while getting more…which when all things are said and done, will be most likely used to buy their ship passage. Um yeah….another hint about who the baby is (and the one I was originally going to go with…) Hint: Kai isn't the oldest….**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Journey Continues….

Ray worked on getting the horses ready while Maya cleaned up. The sun was just barely rising in the east, throwing long shadows across the ground. Ray shivered slightly as he turned back to face the small inn they had stayed in the night before. Maya was hurrying over to him, her face tight with concern. "Come on…we need to get going. Now." She pulled herself up onto Maribelle, grasping the reins.

"Why? What's going on?" Ray scrambled onto Firebolt, a frown crossing his face.

"A couple of men were inside asking after me… not that the landlady knew it was me that they were asking after." Taking in a deep breath, she glanced over at him. "I recognized both from my people's army. I suspect my disappearing act has been noticed."

"Well then… we need to get going then. The sooner we get to this Ninjago, the better." Ray nudged Firebolt into a gentle trot.

Maya took a deep breath, before nudging Maribelle to follow him. "I hope we actually make it there."

…

Maya rubbed Firebolt as she leaned into the warhorse, watching as her best friend aided an elderly lady with her gardening. Her grandson had offered a good deal of money for anyone that would stop and help her. Ray of course had jumped at the opportunity to earn more money for their planned voyage.

Ray wiped at the sweat that beaded his forehead. He glanced over, noticing that Maya was watching him silently. He gave her a small wave, before turning back to what he was doing.

"Tu esposo trabaja duro, ¿no es así?" The elderly lady that Ray was weeding the garden for suddenly appeared next to Maya.

Maya jumped, before quickly correcting her. "No estamos casados. Sólo somos amigos."

She arched her eyebrow upwards, surprise flaring in her eyes. "Sin embargo, estás esperando a su hijo."

Maya turned red as she subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach, feeling for the small life that was growing in there. "Bueno, sí. Pero no estamos casados."

"Todavía..." She chirped back at her in a sing song voice.

Maya somehow turned even redder than she had before, crossing her arms hurriedly in front of her chest. Ray looked over and noticed her obvious discomfort. Well, then he better do something about that. Standing up, he brushed the dirt off of his hands and onto his breeches. Walking over, he sidled up next to Maya. "Are you ok?"

Maya shrieked in surprise, jumping as she whipped her head around to gawk at him. "Ray! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"You watched me walk over here… so unless you weren't paying attention to what was going on around you, you knew exactly what I was doing." Ray pointed out as he arched his right eyebrow upwards.

Maya's cheeks flushed a light pink color as she looked at her friend. Which is what he was…a friend that they both admitted to having strong feelings for. Oh boy. That elderly lady was right…they weren't married _yet_. They were on the road to getting there though.

"If you are done pulling weeds you probably should find her grandson and tell him so that we can get paid." Maya murmured softly as she turned her head away.

Ray nodded, before titling his head slightly to the side. "How do I do that again?"

Maya smiled, before informing him the words that he needed to use. "He terminado la tarea con la que necesitabas ayuda."

Ray nodded, before repeating the words back at her. "He terminado la tarea con la que necesitabas ayuda."

"Yes. That is correct. Go while I prepare the horses." Maya fought the urge to lean in and kiss him.

Ray nodded again, before hurrying back to the house where the grandson was chopping wood. Clearing his throat, he spoke haltingly in the young man's native tongue. "He terminado la tarea con la que necesitabas ayuda."

The man nodded, before disappearing inside. When he came back out, he was carrying a small coin bag that was bulging. The man smiled as he nodded the bag to him. "Gracias, aprecié la ayuda que me diste."

Ray felt panic rise up as he realized that he didn't really know what he just said. Pushing this to the back of his mind, he merely nodded to the young man, hoping that he had just thanked him for doing the job.

Walking back to Maya, he helped her up onto Maribelle, before hopping onto Firebolt. The sooner they left this place, the sooner they could get to their final destination…

…

Ray carefully set up the campfire, his gaze darting occasionally over to Maya. Ever since they had left the small farm that belonged to the elderly lady, she had been acting a bit strange, blushing whenever he would talk to her about the most mundane things, firewood, setting up camp…where to set up camp. Even asking her if she is alright brings a light dusting of pink to her cheeks.

"Maya? Is dinner ready yet?" Ray tentatively asked, worried about how she'll respond to the question.

"Yeah..it's ready." She turned her head to the side so that he wouldn't notice the light pink dusting that had formed on her face.

Ray shook his head, before walking over and sitting next to her, picking up his portion of the meal. "Thank you."

"You're Welcome." Maya shyly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Ray nibbled on his dry piece of bread, staring at the flames that would hopefully keep any wild animals at bay for awhile. Maya sighed, before brushing her hands off and slipping into the tent to get some shuteye.

Ray watched her go, wishing that he knew what was going on with her this particular night. Sometimes he wished that he had at least one sister so that he could understand the mindset of women better. Who knows…maybe she would have played with him as a child instead of leaving him to feign for himself in that area.

 **A/N: Done! Um, yeah… Maya can't stop blushing around Ray now. Isn't that wonderful? Also… I had a somewhat weird, really terrifying nightmare last night and have been up since five this morning because of it. Not fun… so I might get rather tired later today…for now I am awake and typing. (I played games on my phone instead of working on my stories for the first couple of hours…)**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	11. Chapter 10

**Apologies in advance for the lack of English words being spoken...Ray is in no position to talk.**

Chapter Ten: Time for a Storm on the Road…

Ray rubbed Firebolt down, flinching as thunder cracked loudly over head. The storm had taken them by surprise and now they were clustered underneath a grove of trees listening to the rain and thunder, and watching as lightning raced across the sky. Maribelle snickered loudly, pulling on her tether. Ray grimaced, before glancing over at the tent that Maya was sleeping in. She hadn't been feeling well all day, so when the storm appeared Ray took it as an opportunity to make her rest. And now he was by himself with only the anxious horses for company.

Lifting a hand up, he pushed his wet hair out of his face, shivering slightly in the cold. "Ray? You sure you don't want to come in here and warm up?" Maya slipped quietly out of the tent, startling Ray.

Ray shook his head, water spraying everywhere. "No…I'm fine. Just rest Maya. A little water never hurt anyone before."

Maya frowned, before ducking back inside, shooting him a look. "Fine…but if you get cold, come inside, alright?"

"Yes mother." Ray sarcastically replied, rolling his eyes at her.

"I mean it, Ray!" The tent flap closed behind her, even as another loud boom of thunder spooked the horses.

Ray sighed, before grabbing at the reins. "Easy there guys…just a little storm. Nothing to be afraid of." He shifted to cough loudly into his shoulder, his entire body shaking from the effort. He closed his eyes as he tilted his head to face the sky. Ray had always been fascinated with rain, but his parents discouraged it greatly. At least with Maya, he didn't have to hide it from her.

"I better go make dinner." Ray murmured softly as he shifted away from the horses. Firebolt whinnied loudly against that plan, the warhorse's ears lying flat against his head. Ray quickly patted the horse on the neck. "I know, I know. It'll be over with soon. And once the storm is over, we get back to the other problems of living on the road."

…...

Maya rolled her eyes at her friend as he sneezed for the millionth time. As water-oriented her people were, they weren't ones for being out in the rain for a reason. History showed that those who were out in the rain without proper protection had a tendency of getting ill…deathly ill. She pressed a hand against his forehead, nibbling on her bottom lip. She needed to move, head to the nearest town. For two reasons, one Ray needed an actual healer and two… if they didn't get moving soon, their resources here will run out. Sighing, she scooped Ray up into her arms as if he were a sack of potatoes, whistling for the horses to move closer to her. Firebolt did as told, stopping next to her. Maya glanced from the heavy weight in her arms, to the tall back of the warhorse.

A sigh escaped her as she shifted again. "Sorry Firebolt…but I need Maribelle."

Maribelle flicked her ears forward, clearly hearing her name. Trotting over, she stopped next to Maya. Maya grunted as she heaved Ray onto her back, before quickly tearing down camp and loading all of their belongings onto Firebolt. Climbing on top of Maribelle, she steadied Ray in place as she grabbed Firebolt's reins. Clicking her tongue, she nudged the horses forward. "We've got to get help….for Ray."

…

Maya sighed with relief when a small town showed up in the horizon. Ray was by now warm to the touch…really warm to the touch. If she didn't know better she would have thought he was catching himself on fire again. Maya took a deep breath, before yelling out to the town. "¡Ayuda! ¡Mi amigo está enfermo!"

At first it looked as if no one heard her…then a young man came riding out to meet her. "¿Perder? Qué es ... sígueme. El sanador es así." He spurred his horse around to gallop back into the town.

Maya followed him to the small hut near the middle of town, her heart thudding loudly as she looked straight ahead. The young man jumped off his horse, quickly flinging the door to the hut open. "¡Tía Rebecca! Tienes un cliente!" He hollered into the small room.

An older lady came hurrying into the room, wiping her hands on her dirt stained apron. "Pedro ... ¿qué estás gritando sobre ...? Oh!" Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Ray's unconscious form.

Moving quickly, she laid him out on the cot in the room, before bustling over to where many different herbs hung. "Pedro se un cariño y tráeme un hervidor de agua."

"Si Tia." Pedro hurried away, disappearing into the next room.

Maya wrung her hands as she wondered vaguely how much this was going to cost them. They had limited money to throw around…and they were saving up for their big trip. They needed to get to Ninjago. "¿Señora? ¿Exactamente cuánto nos costará esto?"

The healer smiled as she stoked up the fire, her nephew approaching with a kettle of water. "Sin costo ... es bueno ver que la guerra tiene un final a la vista."

"¿¡Qué!?" Maya started, bewilderment flooding her.

The lady smiled, reaching out to grasp her hands. "No soy tonta, princesa. Él es obviamente un miembro del enemigo ... y claramente te preocupas mucho por él." Pausing, she eyed Maya's growing belly. "Eso y tú también eres claramente una pareja."

"Ah! ¿Qué pasa con todo el mundo suponiendo que somos una pareja últimamente?" Maya mumbled to herself, rolling her eyes skyward. Pointing her finger at the healer, she added a bit more, a smidgen more on the threatening side than she meant to. "¡Tienes suerte de que no nos pueda entender!"

"Por supuesto ... estoy feliz por ti, solo para que sepas tu alteza." The healer curtsied low, amusement dancing in her eyes.

Maya sank down in the chair next to the bed, opting to watch over her dear friend as he recovered from his illness. At least she didn't have to pay for his care…

 **A/N: Done! And it is raining over here…just using Mother Nature as an inspiration for this story. Yeah…hope you all enjoyed this little tidbit.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**

 **P.S. I have a poll up on my profile… go vote!**


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: ?

Ray groaned as he rolled over, trying to find the energy to open his eyes. He vaguely remembered Maya carrying him…and some other lady speaking in her native tongue with her. And some guy… Maya had sounded stressed over something that the lady had said. Finally blinking his eyes open, he noticed that he was lying in a healer's hut, Maya asleep on a cot that was clearly dragged out so that she could be with him. Groaning again, he reached a hand up and rubbed his forehead. His head hurt soo much.

"Ray?" Maya's soft voice filled his ears, making him turn to face her.

"Morning Maya." Ray winced as pain stabbed through his skull. Apparently moving was not something he should be doing just yet.

"It's closer to dinner time. You've been out of it for ten days." Maya murmured softly as she sat up in her bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Thankfully Rebecca says she won't charge us while you're resting. How do you feel?"

Ray groaned as he shifted again, pain briefly claiming him before subsiding. "Like I was run over by a horse."

Maya barked out a laugh upon hearing that, just glad that he was awake this time. "I see…"

"¿Perder? Tenemos un problema. Los guardias están aquí buscándote. Tú y tu amigo necesitan irse ahora." Rebecca walked in, concern flooding her eyes, Pedro right on her heels.

Maya paled as she looked over at her. "¿Qué? ¿Cómo nos encontraron tan rápido?"

"What's going on Maya?" Ray struggled to sit up, concern flooding him.

Maya swallowed hard, before rushing over to help him up. "The guards are here…and they're looking for us. We need to leave. ¿Es apto para viajar?"

Rebecca briskly walked over, placing a cool hand on his forehead. "Mientras él se lo tome con calma ... Pedro irá y preparará sus caballos en una zona boscosa cercana. Una vez que estén listos, te sacaré para unirte a ellos. Quédate en el río el mayor tiempo posible, sigue el camino y está fuera de la vista."

Pedro nodded briskly, before disappearing outside again. Rebecca moved to her supplies, gathering a variety of herbs and packing them up in a basket. Maya paced in the small space, worry flooding her. "Ray…Rebecca and Pedro are going to help us sneak out of here. They will get as out to the woods, near a river that follows the road. That is our ticket out of here."

Ray nodded, before wincing as his head nearly split in half. He pressed hand to his forehead, wrinkling his nose. "Am I well enough to travel?"

"According to Rebecca as long as you take it easy for a few days." Maya wrung her hands together, too nervous to actually look out the window to see what was going on out there.

Pedro came back into the hut, hurrying over to help his aunt to gather supplies. Calling over his shoulder, he spoke directly to Maya. "Tus caballos están en un claro justo al lado del río. Tengo un amigo que solía ser un comerciante, con el cambio que prohíbe todas las naves innecesarias, tiene una gran nave de la que está tratando de deshacerse."

Maya blinked, before feeling a huge smile cross her features. "Gracias Pedro Cual es el nombre de tu amigo ... espera. ¿Qué cambio?"

Pedro placed a lid over the top of one of the baskets. "Básicamente, tu padre, el rey, tiene todos los barcos que no están siendo utilizados para que los militares estén en tierra. Los barcos de pesca son la única excepción, ya que todavía necesitamos peces para comer."

Maya frowned, before grasping a long cloak and pulling it on. "Veo..."

A moment later, she was heading her face, as she slipped through the back exit of the small village, heading straight to the woods under the guise that she was helping Rebecca find herbs. Pedro and Ray were headed there under the guise of hunting.

…

Ray rubbed the back of his neck, vaguely wondering if a dip into the river would be as refreshing as it looked. Maya was keeping them on a steady track, hooves pounding the ground as they rode at a brisk pace. Upon seeing that Ray and Maribelle were slowing down, she reined FIrebolt in, slowing down. "You ok there Ray?"

"Yeah…just a little tired." Ray shook his head, trying to clear the fog that seemed to be hovering around his mind.

Maya quickly pulled Firebolt to a stop. "Do we need to stop to let you rest?"

"No… I'm fine let's keep going…why is the world spinning?" Ray blinked as he swayed dangerously in his saddle.

"Oh boy." Maya muttered under her breath, before darting forward and grabbing him before he hit the ground. "How about we stop for the night now."

…

The fire crackled as it shot sparks into the air; Maya was stirring it with a stick, while Ray slept peacefully nearby. Both of them needed to take it easy for a few days…at least in Ray's case. Maya was surprised to discover that the further along in her pregnancy she was, the more tired she was. Shaking her head to clear it, she stood up and opened the basket of herbs that Rebecca gave them. Some of them were herbs that Ray needed now, while he was just barely getting over his cold, while others were in case of a variety of emergencies. As well as some that Maya will need for when the time came to have her little one. Grabbing a bowl, she ladled the hot stew into it, before walking over to Ray.

"Ray? Dinner is ready." She nudged the bowl under his nose so that he had no choice but to smell it.

Ray groaned loudly as he blinked his eyes open. "I'm not being very helpful right now…am I?"

"You're just fine. You're still recovering from a cold mind you." Maya rolled her eyes at him.

Ray sighed, before taking the bowl and placing a large bit of stew into his mouth. "At least this tastes heavenly."

 **A/N: Done! So…they are on the road again… and guards are chasing them. And Pedro told Maya something… ok, he told her about a ship that a friend of his as that they can use to get away. Wait…did I remember to have Pedro tell her what his friend's name is? No I did not…let's presume that Pedro told her on their way to the horses.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Ship Ahoy!

Ray glanced nervously at Maya as they approached the large sprawling city that was happened to have one of the biggest ports in all the kingdom. "Are you sure Pedro has a friend here that can help us _here_?"

Maya gave a quick nod, pressing a hand over her rounding belly. "Yes." It has now been six weeks since they had left Rebecca and Pedro behind. "His name is Abejundio."

"Abejundio? Where do you guys come up with these names?" Ray questioned her, shaking his head in disbelief.

Maya swatted him, before leading the way through the crowded streets. Eventually they reached what appeared to be an abandoned port, though there were still a great many ships docked there. And workers roaming about the place. Everything was just in a state of disrepair. Maya scanned the place, before spotting a black-haired young man that appeared to be about Pedro's age. "Disculpe, pero eres Abejundio?"

The man turned to face her, his eyebrow darting upwards as he eyed them. "Si. ¿Puedo ayudarte?"

Maya sighed with relief, before speaking rapidly in her native tongue. "Nos dijeron que nos puede ayudar a adquirir un barco para el misterioso continente de Ninjago. Es muy importante para nosotros ... y mientras menos gente sepa, mejor."

"Vuelve aquí al atardecer. Tendré el Sunset Glider listo para llevarte para entonces. Sin embargo, princesa, debo advertirte que puedo dejarte para darte a cualquier navegante experimentado o inexperto. Deben aprender a navegar solos, ya que solo serán ustedes dos. A menos que el pequeño venga antes de llegar a su destino." Abejundio spoke with a warning in his voice, concern creasing his brow.

Maya nodded in understanding. "Gracias." She then turned to face Ray, grasping him by the arm. "Abejundio is going to go prepare a ship for us called the Sunset Glider. We need to look up how to sail though since he is not able to give us any men to sail the ship for us."

"Wonderful." Ray muttered under his breath, anxiety flashing through him. His people weren't sailors for a reason.

Maya linked her fingers through his, a smile on her face. "Come Ray. We only have till sunset."

"Really?" Ray wondered if he was the only one that got onto the irony that they were setting sail at sunset and the ship they were using was called the _Sunset_ Glider.

Maya ignored him as she strode purposely to a large beat up building near the docks. "The Dock Library should have what we need compared to the Public Library."

"Really? Do all of your cities have two libraries?" Ray muttered under his breath as he stuck close to her.

Maya shook her head, a soft murmur escaping her. "Only those that have a port that trains new sailors."

Ray nodded in understanding, lifting his eyes up to look over the rundown building. "Doesn't look like anyone's been here for a while."

"Probably hasn't. The different ports have been shut down for a variety of reasons over the years…mainly so that the king can use the sailors as soldiers." Maya sounded disgusted at that thought.

"And here I was thinking you wanted to be a soldier." Ray softly murmured, hoping to draw a smile out of her.

Maya shook her head, a smile twitching on her face. "Indeed. However, that was my choice. Most in the army have no choice in the matter…and really, you are nothing like the flame throwing monsters we were told you all were."

"Flame throwing….?" Ray shook his head in disbelief, before continuing on. "You should be glad to know that you are nothing like the flood bringers that enjoy heartache that we were warned against."

Maya chuckled as she shook her head. "Unbelievable. You would think that we were at war with each other for no reason at all."

"Do you know the reason behind the war? From what I was told growing up, no one remembers why." Ray timidly asked, tugging his straw hat down low to cover his face.

Maya shook her head as she pushed the library door opened. "Of course not. No one remembers why…in my opinion that should be grounds enough to stop this infernal war."

Ray hummed in agreement as he stepped into the dimly lit library. "So…where do we start?"

…

Ray rubbed his eyes as he glanced out the filthy window to the sky outside. "Maya? The sun is setting…we have to get moving."

Maya groaned as she sat down the thick book that she had been reading up on the different techniques used to figure out where one is at in the midst of the ocean. "Already? We're nowhere near ready."

Ray crossed his arms as he leaned against the table she was sitting at. "We could tell Abejundio that we need more time..."

"Absolutely not. We have to get going. The longer we put this off, the more trouble we're going to run into. We're leaving. For Ninjago." Maya leapt t her feet, sheer determination flaring across her features.

Ray smiled at her, pleased that she was his best friend. "For Ninjago."

~Five Minutes Later~

Abejundio nodded to them even as they finished pulling the anchor to the small ship up, and cast off from the port. Maya nodded tensely to him, before turning to Ray. Ray swallowed hard, before tightening his grip on the steering wheel, eyeing the choppy water that they were sailing into.

"Let's go make a new life…" _Far from royal expectations._ Ray called out to Maya, the last bit echoing around in his mind…unaware that the same thought was echoing around Maya's as well.

Maya climbed up to the crow's nest, swinging herself up into it with ease. Closing her eyes, she stretched forth her hand… Ray blinked slowly as the water seemed to calm down, and the current picked up speed, whisking them far away from the port and all known civilization. Ray turned his gaze back the vast ocean in front of him, eyes narrowing has he noted that the next time they see land…it was going to be Ninjago.

 **A/N: Done! Hmm, yeah this is getting interesting. I might just do one chapter of them out on the sea, might do more…aiming for at least one chapter. Pretty much expect a huge time skip coming up. Also, no one in Ninjago speaks the same language as these two, so yeah… it will be italicized don't worry. Not gonna look up another language for that one. It'll be fun to see how long it takes them to learn it… (ok…not long at all since I am most likely gonna forget which words they know and which ones they don't so its gonna go quick.)**

 **We'll see when we get there. Also, I found the way they keep saying For Ninjago very interesting…**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: I mixed up somewhere with how long Maya's pregnancy is… oops? Anyways…pretend that it's been a few months before they got their ship. Also…all italicized words are the native tongue of the Ninjagoans.**

 **The child is about two weeks early.**

Chapter Thirteen: Days on a ship… Boring!

~Day Two~

Ray could feel the sun beating down on his back as he latched the sails in place. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Maya standing at the wheel, gently steering the ship with one hand while the other rested on her growing belly.

"I'm going to climb up and see if I can't find a clue on where we need to go!" Ray dusted his hands off, before lifting a hand up and wiping sweat off of his forehead.

"You go ahead and do that. I doubt you'll find something this soon though." Maya nodded in understanding.

~Day Twenty-Three~

Maya handed Ray a simple sandwich, before leaning against the railing, staring out at the sea. "How much longer till we see any signs of land do you think?"

"I have no idea. How are you doing? How much longer do you have?" Ray glanced nervously at her.

"I'm fine." Maya subconsciously rubbed her belly, a small smile on her features. "And we still have a couple of months left."

"If you say so." Ray bit into his sandwich, even as he grasped the rope that was hanging there with one hand.

~Day Thirty-Six~

"Come on… no! No! No!" Ray muttered to himself as he fumbled, his sword clattering loudly to the ground.

Maya pressed her lips together to keep herself from laughing. "Need help Ray? Like a sparring partner?"

"Nope! You just relax! I've got this…I think." Ray muttered the last part under his breath as he readjusted his grip on the sword handle.

~Day Sixty-six~

Ray pushed his hair out of his face, as he grasped for the now slick rope. "Come on come on…you can do this…" Thunder boomed over head even as lightning streaked across the sky.

Ray shook his head quickly, before carefully and swiftly, with a lot of practiced ease, tied the sails in place so as not to be ripped apart when the way the wind was blowing. A large wave crashed over the edge of the ship, nearly taking him down over it. Wrapping his arms and legs around the pole, he squeezed his eyes shut as the wave soaked him through.

"Know what? I really don't like storms!" Ray growled under his breath as he then painstakingly climbed down.

~Day Sixty-Eight~

Ray gently cradled the small, wrinkly, not even a day old yet, little girl to his chest, his breathing coming in small movements. "We need a name for her."

Maya cracked an eye open, peering at him as if that was the last thing she had thought of. "I never thought of that. Do we use one of your people's names…or one of mine?"

Ray frowned as he rubbed his thumb down the tiny arm that belonged to the tiny girl. "What about neither? Hope isn't a name from either people, but that is why we are on this boat. Hope for new start somewhere far from any conflict."

"Hope… bother I just realized that I don't know your last name!" Maya frowned, clearly distressed over that small detail.

Ray paused, uncertainty flashing through him. He couldn't give her his real last name…that would ruin their connection. "My last name is…" He scanned his mind in hopes of finding one that believable enough. "Smith. Hope Smith. May her days be long…and strife free."

Maya chuckled, though a silent question burned in her eyes. "I think I'll take a nap. Do you think you can watch our little Hope for a while?"

"Of course my dear." Ray kissed the top of his daughter's head as if to prove a point.

~Day Ninety-Six~

Hope babbled endlessly as she followed her father with her bright ocean blue eyes. A smile crossed her features as Ray stopped to bend over and tickle her toes. Giggling, she lifted her hands up to him, signaling that she wanted to be picked up. Ray happily obliged, scooping the month old baby into his arms.

Maya pouted as she glanced over from the steering wheel to where the two were at. "Oh come on! She never asks for me to pick her up…and she fusses when I do."

"What can I say? She likes her daddy." Ray chuckled as he cradled their little Hope close to his chest.

Maya shook her head as she scanned the ocean for signs of land. "I'm beginning to think that Ninjago doesn't exist and we're just gonna drift endlessly for the rest of our lives."

Ray frowned, walking over to scan the ocean himself. His eyes widened in shock as he spotted something that most definitely would help them out. "Maya! Land! There's land in front of us!"

Maya yanked out the spy glass, holding it to her eye as she scanned the landmass he spotted. "That's a good two days away from here! We just might make it!"

~Day Ninety-Eight~

Ray frowned as he noticed something odd about the various sized ships that were coming and going at the docks. None of them had sails, or any paddles, that he could see. "Maya? Where are their sails?"

Maya shivered as she eyed the strange ships. "My people speak of witchcraft that the people of Ninjago practice. They must use it to make the ships move."

Ray frowned, suddenly concerned for his little princess's safety. "Will Hope be safe here?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't she?" Maya tossed the docking rope to one of the many docking hands that were giving their ship a funny look, as if they thought it strange.

" _Look, we get enough trouble with pirates already…we don't need you and your crew to ruin our lively hoods either!"_ One of the dockhands grumbled in a language that neither of them understood.

Alarmed, Ray scanned the area for something to tell him that there was nothing to worry about…only to see that the few signs he could see were written in a language he didn't know. "Maya?"

"I am as lost as you." Maya bite her bottom lip, anxiety flashing across her features.

Ray decided to presume that the man had asked after their trip. "It went as well as expected. Our little girl was born on the ship." He gestured to his daughter, in Maya's tight grip, a large smile on his face.

This seemed to disgruntle the man even more. _"Great…pirates that only speak in gibberish! Must find themselves extremely funny doing that."_

"Maya? I think we've got to find a way to communicate with the people here." Ray pulled his fiancée and daughter close to him, uncertainty flashing through him over their decision to leave the only cultures that they have ever known.

"That we do indeed need to do." Maya whispered as she hugged Hope to her chest.

 **A/N: Done! Yeah… my oldest sister just arrived and tomorrow is the Fourth of July. So, Happy Fourth of July folks! I hope you all enjoy the parades and fireworks shows! Unless you're not American…then um… yeah. I hope you all have a nice day tomorrow.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Struggling with Adjusting to a Completely New Culture…

Ray tied the last of the weaponry that they had together, crossing fingers that he could maybe find an actual job sometime soon. They've been carefully pulling apart their ship and attempting to turn it into a usable shelter on the land for now. So far, it worked. But they needed to eat and that cost money when one doesn't have any food leftover from the months long trip.

" _I've been told that you are creeping some of the folks around here out. Mind telling me your names? I mean…you obviously aren't trying to rob anyone. And tying up your weaponry is sort of counterproductive."_ Startled, Ray spun around to find a rather pale young man with glowing red eyes watching his every move. A mess of brown hair was splattered over the top of his head. He was wearing what looked to Ray like black pajamas with the strange writing down the one side in red, and dark blue piece of fabric tied around his middle.

"I do not understand your language." Ray spoke slowly, and gestured with his hands. "Do you want to buy something here?" He carefully loosened the weapons so that he could see his choices better.

The guy glanced down at the weapons, his expression interested. Ray felt hope surge through him. As if to remind him about her, a loud wail sliced through the air. Maya hurried over to him, cradling their daughter. "Ray? How long till we get some money to buy food here? Hope is really hungry." Maya's brow furrowed with concern.

The guy glanced over at Maya and Hope…and then turned and left, muttering something under his breath. Ray sighed, disappointed not to make a sale. "I'm going to house to house to see if I can't make any good sells with our weaponry. We don't need it anymore."

"You sure that is a good idea? We cannot communicate with the natives here." Maya fretted as she pressed a kiss to their crying daughter's head.

"It's all we can do till I get a job somewhere." Ray pointed out helplessly as he shouldered the packaged weapons onto his back.

…

Ray slumped down in front of the crudely built from wood from their ship hut that they were staying in, dropping the weapons down next to him. His plan to make money quickly had failed…greatly failed. Rubbing his hand over his face, he looked up to see the strange man from before approaching again, this time with a large basket and chatting with a young woman wearing tan pants and a matching shirt, her a deep brown that was braided loosely down her back. She also was wearing a pair of spectacles and had deep brown eyes.

She looked over and realized that Ray was watching, and gave him a nervous smile, before turning to her companion. _"You sure about this Garmadon? This seems more like something Wu would do."_

" _Leave my brother out of this! I know what I am doing! Besides…that is why I brought you with. No one will question me doing this if I have someone else with me."_ The strange man grumbled lowly to his companion.

Ray stood up slowly, confused as he realized that they were approaching him. Did the man change his mind and is going to buy one of the weapons after all? Maya stepped out of the hut, rubbing Hope's back in an attempt to soothe her. "What is going on here Ray?"

"No idea." Ray shook his head, wondering why it was that the woman had frozen.

" _You weren't kidding when you said that they have a baby!"_ The woman squealed suddenly, moving closer to look at Hope.

Maya shifted the baby in her arms, trying to keep her comfortable. "Yes?"

" _May I hold her? She is soo adorable!"_ The woman started to make soft cooing sounds to the little girl in Maya's arms. _"Lookie there…she already starting to look so much like her father with her dark brown hair with hints of red in it already. Oh! And she has your blue eyes Miss! You two must be very proud."_ She clapped her hands together, eyes sparkling as she got a bit too close to Maya and Hope for Ray's liking.

Ray shifted slightly, trying to appear calm…while being ready to bounce if she turned out to be a threat to his small family. The strange man cleared his throat loudly, before sitting the large basket in front of Ray. Ray felt his breath catch as he looked down into it to see, the odd clothing that was fashionable there in their sizes, baby clothes, food, plates, cups, bowls, mugs, cooking utensils…and some stick things that he wasn't too sure what they were supposed to be. And a large wad of what he recognized as this place's version of money. Shock flooded through him as he gingerly shifted through the items. There was what appeared to a package of something for Hope…though he wasn't sure what it was. The picture on the package showed a baby wearing whatever it was on their bottom though. **(Disposable Diapers…)**

The strange man cleared his throat, looking highly uncomfortable. _"This should get you through the next few days. We'll come by often. And we'll bring more of our friends with us! Might bring my younger brother at some point… um yeah…we probably should go._ " He cleared his throat again, before turning to face his companion. _"Come on Misako. The baby will still be here next time we come over…and Wu really doesn't like it when we are late to training."_

The woman nodded in understanding, though her facial expression hinted that she didn't like it. Glancing down at little Hope, she wiggled her fingers in farewell before leaving to join him.

Ray watched as the two of them left, before picking the basket, which they had left behind up, and showing the contents to Maya. "I think they were trying to help us. They left this here."

Maya frowned as she stared down at the contents of the basket. "I wouldn't even know where to begin with putting those clothes on…or for that matter how to cook using their foods. And do you realize that they didn't give as any silver? Instead, they gave us these stick things! Whatever could we need them for?"

"I wouldn't mind knowing that myself." Ray located a can of what appeared to be dried milk that had a picture of it inside of something and a baby drinking from it. "Let's just feed Hope for now." He located the thing in the picture and quickly worked to figure out how this'll work.

After making a small mess getting the powder milk into the thing, He frowned, trying to figure out what would turn it back into liquid for his little girl. Maya tapped him on the shoulder, before summoning a small ball of water. "Perhaps if we mixed water with it?"

"Good idea." Ray handed the thing to her.

A minute later, Maya held the now filled with milk thing to their little girl. "Aqui tienes. Come mi princesita."

 **A/N: Ok…so basically Ninjago has a lot of things that they've never seen before. Modern clothing, disposable diapers, formula, bottles, CHOPSTICKS, also the kind of food that is available to Ninjago is different than what they are used to. The money system is different too. Basically, they are going to have fun learning everything and how it works here compared to there.**

 **Also…they have now officially met Garmadon and Misako! (This is before the fight over her… the three of them are just friends at the moment.)**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: A Young Man Makes Job Hunting Very Easy!

Ray was attempting to get a job at some kind of store when he next showed up. Ray tilted his head to the side, eyeing the strange red eyed man. This time he had a younger man with blonde hair and light green eyes…this new person was also wearing what appeared to be a gray version of the pajamas that Ray suspected was some sort of fashion statement…or uniform.

"Hello. I have never truly thanked you for your help the other day." Ray smiled warmly, hoping that he understood what it was that he was saying.

The red eyed man noticed him, and promptly nudged his companion. _"That is the man that I told you about that does not speak our language. He has…"_

 _"A wife and daughter with him. Yes, I know. Come brother…Father is waiting for us. Let us gather the groceries we've been sent to fetch and head home."_ The younger man interrupted the strange one.

Ray frowned, not sure what was just said, but pretty sure that wasn't nice of him to interrupt the other one. The store owner muttered something under his breath, before waving his hand at Ray. _"Get out of here…I don't need freaks loitering about my shop!"_

The younger man stiffened, his eyes briefly flashing in anger. Whirling around, he grabbed Ray by the wrist. _"Excuse me…but we are in desperate need of a gardener back at the Monastery. You look like you are a hard worker. Come with us."_

Ray stumbled as the young man walked off, without letting go of his arm. "I am confused…what is going on here?"

A few minutes later, they arrived at the top of a large mountain, where a large Monastery of some sort stood. Without ringing the doorbell, the strange man and his younger companion walked in, bringing Ray with him. Confused on the fact that they had brought him to a place of peace, he was alarmed to see the others there, of both genders, swinging weapons and training for battle. "No…no!" Ray whispered to himself, anxiety bumbling up at the thought of war.

 _"Father! We must speak with you!"_ The younger man called out.

The strange one tossed his head back, quickly adding something to what it was that he had said. _"By that he means he has something to tell you! I wasn't involved in this!"_

A much older man suddenly approached them, stroking his long pure white beard as he looked between the two. He had emerald green eyes that appeared to have flecks of gold in them, and was wearing a white pajama outfit while carrying a staff. _"Sons…how many times do I have to tell you not to argue?"_

 _"Sorry Father…but it is not really an argument. This young man here speaks a different language than anyone else and well…he is in need of a job."_ The younger man bowed his head as if to acknowledge that the elder was above him.

 _"I see…we are in need of a gardener. Find a way to get that across to him and set him to work. The courtyard is a mess."_ Turning around, he clapped his hands together. _"Students! Head inside to get something to eat and rest. We will begin again in two hours."_ Turning to face the two young men, he clasped his hands behind his back. _"I expect that the courtyard will greatly improve by the time we resume."_

 _"Yes Father."_ Both men bowed to him.

Everyone in the courtyard left, leaving the two men by themselves with Ray. The strange one turned to face the younger one. _"This was **your** idea. You can tell him that he has a job here." _He then left, slipping into the building.

The young man sighed, before gesturing around the courtyard. _"Father will pay you if you clean the courtyard."_ He paused glancing at Ray for a second, before walking over and picking up a broom. Holding it out, he handed it to Ray, before gesturing again to the messy courtyard. _"Just see if you can clean this mess up before Father returns with the others."_ He then turned and headed into the Monastery, the doors closing resolutely behind him.

Ray scratched his head in confusion for about five seconds, before realizing what just happened. "I think they want me to clean this courtyard." With that, he began to sweep the loose leaves and dirt off of the paved courtyard.

A giggled arose up as he imagined what his parents reaction will be if they see him doing such menial tasks such as cleaning a courtyard. It technically was not a pretty idea, and he hoped his parents never found out. Finishing sweeping everything up, he found a pair of garden clippers and went to work trimming the overgrown bushes that edged an actual garden. Scooping up the discarded branches, he walked over and dumped them into the large trash bin sitting on the edge of the courtyard. Wiping his hands onto his pants, he walked over and noted the variety of plants growing there. The only problem was…he didn't know what were weeds and what wasn't. Biting his bottom lip, he knelt down next to the plants and started to pull up long swaths of grass that really shouldn't be in a garden in the first place.

~One Hour Later~

 _"This is much better than it was when we left it. Here is your pay."_ The elder reappeared behind Ray, who had moved onto collecting and polishing the abandoned weapons, holding a good sized wad of green paper.

Ray hesitated, puzzled on whether or not he was being paid or not. As if sensing his confusion, the elder reached a hand out and took his hand, pressing the paper into his hand. Immediately Ray felt a slight jolt as his powers reacted to the man's touch, nearly making him drop the strange money that was used here onto the ground. "What was that!?" _"What was that!?"_

Ray shakily stood up, his fingers curling around the money tightly. "Thank you kind sir. I will be back tomorrow. Though I need help with the garden. I do not know what is weed and what is plant." Ray gestured to the garden, hoping that the man caught onto the fact that he needed help with it.

 _"Wu! I want you to help him with the garden tomorrow."_ The elder turned, speaking to the young man.

The young man bowed, a cheerful smile on his face. _"Yes Father."_

Ray bowed to the elder, before slipping out the door… with every intention to get to his fiancé and child. He needed to talk with Maya about the sparks that nearly gave away his power when he brushed hands with an elder up here at the Monastery.

~Three Hours Later~

Ray stroked Hope's soft hair as she slept soundly in her cradle. Maya was finishing washing up the dishes, humming to herself. "Maya…I am still concerned that when I touched the man…my power was responding to it…as if…I don't know! I have never heard of someone's power responding to the touch of another!"

"Ray…as it accord to you that you are seeing too much into it? I have not heard of that happening either. That does not mean we have to make a big deal of it. Now sleep. You have work to go to tomorrow." Maya shooed him off to bed, flicking the damp and soapy dishcloth at him.

 **A/N: Done! And yeah… the FSM is actually used to that happening when he touches _an elemental master_. However last he checked; he is training all of them right now and there isn't any missing from this generation. He as an idea on what is going on and will most likely (don't go off of that though, I could still change my mind about it…) test Ray to see if he does have any powers.**

 **Also…he has officially met the FSM and Wu! (And unofficially all of the other elemental masters…)**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: Wu is way too Excitable…

Ray walked up to the monastery, rolling his shoulders in anticipation of hard work. He barely entered the courtyard when a blur zoomed towards him. _"You're here! I stayed up way late last night trying to figure out how to break through this language barrier!"_

The blur stopped moving long enough for Ray to realize that it was the young man from the day before. "Oh…you again."

 _"Wu."_ The young man suddenly pointed to himself, looking very proud of that single word. He then repeated himself. _"Wu."_

Ray scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out what he was doing. The young man repeated the action ten more times, before it clicked with Ray with what it was that he was doing. "Oh! That is your name. _Wu._ "

To say someone was excited that he figured it out, was an understatement. Wu clapped his hands together, a grin crossing his face. _"Yes! Yes! Come on…let's teach you your weeds."_

Ray smiled tightly to himself, even as he wondered how does one say his name in this new language. That would be helpful, but first. Ray pointed to himself and said a single word. "Ray."

Wu must have been pretty intelligent, since he caught on instantly. "Ray. _Wu_." He gestured to both of them, testing out Ray's name on his tongue.

Ray nodded eagerly, before gesturing to the garden. "Shall we begin?"

….

 _"Well done. Here's your pay for the day."_ The elderly man commented as he walked over to where they were weeding the garden, holding out a handful of paper money.

Ray accepted the pay, before glancing back at his new friend, pointing to the odd looking money. "Money."

Wu titled his head for a second, before pointing to his pay. _"Money."_

Ray allowed the word to spin around in his mind for a bit, before attempting it. _"Money."_

 _"I didn't know that you were teaching him our language."_ The elderly man commented to Wu.

Wu nodded, before speaking excitedly. _"His name is_ Ray, _which is the same as Ray. I figured that one out when he pointed to the sun and repeated his name. I think he wanted to know how to say his name in our language."_

The elderly man nodded, even as Ray watched with fascination as they spoke together. He suspected that Wu was explaining how he learned his name, since he mentioned it twice. Ray shook hands with both of them, and nodded to the odd, red-eyed man that was watching their interactions. He had a fiancée and baby to get home too.

…

Ray piled food up onto his plate, discussing his day with Maya who was also dishing her plate. "I also learned some words in this place's native tongue."

"Really?" Maya sat her plate down, glancing over at Hope to see if she needed anything.

"Yeah… Apparently here they pronounce weeds as _weeds_. And my name is _Ray_. Oh! The one young man, the one teaching me all of this is named _Wu_." Ray sat down, quickly scooping up a large bit to eat.

"Anything else you learned today?" Maya was amused as she sat down next to him.

Ray thought for a minute, before remembering the last word he learned before he had left. "Yeah…money is pronounced as _money_."

" _Weeds, Ray, Wu,_ and _money_. Not much there though. You can introduce yourself and mention two words." Maya used the stick things, they had figured out that the people here apparently eat using them and they were trying to learn, to push her food around her plate. A sigh escaped her as she stared at the mush like food that she suspected wasn't supposed to be mush. "Real we ever learn how to do things they way they do it here?"

Ray frowned, worry creasing his brow. "I have no idea…"

~ Meanwhile back at Feu's Capital City~

"Where is my son!?" A middle aged man paced around the large throne. He had graying brown hair and sharp familiar hazel eyes. Angrily, he turned to face the men wearing the uniform of the Feu Royal Army. "You better have a good reason why he isn't here already!"

"We're sorry your highness! But he disappeared in the middle of the night. We don't know what happened! there is no sign of a struggle, though really it is obvious that there must have been one at some point." One of the men blurted out, wringing his hands as a sign of nervousness.

The king, for he was wearing a crown as well as what it was the soldier called him, frowned, fury dancing in his eyes. "Find him…now!"

"Yes sir!" They ran out of the room, fleeing from his fury.

The king marched over to a large portrait that hung in the room….a large portrait of Ray.

~Meanwhile back at Agua's Capital City~

"What do you mean that the princess has been kidnapped?!" King Alfonso roared loudly, slamming his fist against his throne.

The men that stood before him trembled with fear as they took a nervous step back. "Just that sire… she vanished in the middle of the night. The only reason we can think of that will cause that to happen is that someone slipped past us and took her…" The soldier that was acting as their spokesperson whimpered nervously as he backed up slowly.

"Find her… find her and make that foolish Feu man that took her pay dearly!"

 **A/N: Close enough to be done! Um, yeah… Angel seems to think I'm taking too long (writer's block, what can I do about it?) and my next story on my update list has been sitting with a cliffhanger for the past several weeks… and she seems to think Kai needs to wake up from his coma and go into panic mode or something like that. Hope you all enjoyed this little chapter… might be doing some more time skips in the future just cause getting to the serpentine war and betrayal of the time twins will take too long if I didn't do that.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: Attack of the Pirates… FSM Finally Gets Conformation:

Ray nodded to Wu as he picked up the bag that was filled to the brim of multicolored leaves. It has now been close to six months since he started to learn the native tongue of this place and he could now mostly hold his own. _"Wu, I'm headed to the dump bin. I'll be back in a minute."_

 _"K. See you in a bit Ray."_ Wu nodded in understanding, before turning his attention back to his spar with his older brother, Garmadon, or as Ray liked to refer to him as, the weird dude with red eyes.

Ray walked across the courtyard, nodding to various students that were practicing their sparring. There was Stormy, who was anything but stormy in personality, Lucan, who could somehow turn himself invisible, Jasper, who could turn himself into metal, and a few others that Ray didn't feel like recalling their names. Slipping out of the courtyard, he walked over to the large green bin that was already overfilled with black sacks like the one he was carrying at the moment. Lifting the lid up with one hand, he tossed the sack into the bin, before dropping the lid down with a loud bang. Rolling his shoulders, he started to reenter the courtyard, only to freeze upon seeing that Wu's father, the old man that owned and ran the Monastery, was now in the courtyard and watching his every move… again. Ever since the weird whatever that was happened, the First Spinjitzu Master, also known simply as FSM, and appeared to be almost waiting for Ray to slip up. He just didn't know what it was that he was waiting for Ray to do.

Ray took a deep breath, before moving over to the two brothers. Unfortunately, Stormy noticed and bounced on over to him. " _Ray! Ray! Guess what! Cliff asked me out to dinner tonight! Third date in as many weeks! I think I've found the one this time!"_

Ray forced a smile on his features, while trying his hardest not to roll his eyes. Cliff was the tenth, yes tenth, person that she had dated since he had arrived here. And she declared every single one of them the one, and it was by the third date each time. Ray started to think of something, nice that didn't sound like he was being sarcastic, to say to her when an alarm went off. Ray jumped, his hands instinctively covering his ears over the loud wailing sirens that announced pirate attacks.

 _"Everyone to the harbor! Protect Ninjago at all costs!"_ FSM bellowed as he lunged forward, glancing briefly at Ray, as he snagged up one of his many weapons.

Ray felt a brief pang of panic as he recalled that his fiancée and daughter both were still down there, since they still haven't gone to look at a house of their own. "Maya…Hope." He hissed their names under his breath, before running after his new friends.

…

"Maya!" Ray grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to his chest even as a pirate slashed downwards right where she had been standing only a minute ago.

"Ray! Where's Hope!?" Maya frantically scanned the area, frightened for their small daughter.

As if to prove that they should be scared for their little, a cry of Dada filled the air, sending a chill down their spines. Ray scanned the area before finally spotting his little girl, wearing a bright blue dress with ruffles that Stormy insisted that she needed, struggling in the hands of a pirate.

"Let my daughter go!" Ray pulled out a sword that he had been working on making for Wu, fury dancing in his eyes.

The pirate turned to face him, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. " _What did you just say?"_

 _"I said…let...my…daughter…go."_ Ray allowed his voice to drop dangerously low, a hidden threat clearly there.

The pirate peered down at the sobbing toddler in his grasp, before looking up at Ray. " _I think not. Kinda cute."_

Ray rolled his eyes, even as he spotted Maya bend down to pick up the bow and arrows that he had made for Lucan. " _Drop her. Gently…and you won't get hurt too badly."_ Ray knew that his new friends were possibly confused, he had yet to reveal that he and Maya both could fight. Or his powers for that matter.

The pirate laughed, moving to take Hope with him. The response was a bit too fast for him to know what hit him. All the pirate knew was that he was now pinned to a post due to an arrow pinning his sleeve down and there was a sword to his neck. Maya pulled back a second arrow, fury dancing in her eyes. "I believe he said put her down."

"Dada!" Hope stretched her tiny arms out, as if to magically teleport herself into her father's arms.

 _"Father! Did you see that!?"_ Wu's voice piped up from somewhere behind Ray, only he was too concerned about getting his daughter back to actually really care on where he was at that very moment.

The pirate narrowed his eyes in anger at being pinned, even as Ray carefully took his little girl, hugging her to his chest. Slowly he backed away from the pirate… with the sound of ripping fabric, the pirate tore free of his prison, lunging at Ray. Ray didn't think about it. It was just like the bandits that attacked them on the way to get their ship. He thrusted his sword hand out, flames shooting forward and scorching the pirate long before he reached them.

Maya was there in an instant, pulling Hope out of his arms and into her own. "Ray! Careful!"

"I know Maya…I know…" Ray shifted his weight, this time redirecting the flames so as to cut off the pirates approach into Ninjago. _"_ But these guys need to learn a lesson…called **_STAY AWAY FROM Ninjago_**!" More flames shot forth, throwing the pirate that had tried to take Hope into the deep waters behind the line of fire.

Ray waited a few minutes to make sure that the pirates had left, before he flicked his wrists, snapping his fingers in the process. Immediately the fire went out. Turning around, he found himself nose to nose with Wu. _"Since when did you control…I mean…what was that?!"_

 _"That was totally awesome! I didn't know that you had an elemental power!"_ Stormy tackled Ray, nearly knocking him over.

 _"I have what now?"_ Ray was bewildered about what she was talking about. He had fire powers, just like his father before him…and his father before him. Seventeenth generation of fire powers.

Stormy slowed down, glancing nervously over her shoulder as FSM slowly approached him. _"Ray…May I have a word with you?"_

 _"Yes?"_ Ray could feel his heart pounding loudly in his ears, his hands already shaking with fear on what FSM was going to do with him. Had he taken it too far with the fire?

 **A/N: Oooh! A perfect spot for a cliffhanger! And the First Spinjitzu Master wants a word with Ray…wonder what's that about. *evil smirk***

 **Also about names listed as friends; Stormy is Jay's biological mother/ the current master of lightning (Cliff is Cliff Gordan… Jay's on his way folks!) Lucan is the current master of Light (Paleman's ancestor), and Jasper is the master of Metal (Karlof's ancestor.) Since I have nothing else to say to you…**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: I'm a What Now? Hi Nin...

Ray followed FSM back to the Monastery, nervous about his silence about what he wanted to talk about. FSM pulled open the door to the building, gesturing for Ray to go inside first. Ray swallowed hard, worried about what was going to happen to him. He had never been invited inside before, what with him being the gardener and what not. " _Am I in trouble?"_

FSM chuckled as he ushered Ray all the way down to his office, where he settled down in his chair, pointing for him to sit down. _"Not at all. I've been suspicious for a while now. Your actions today merely confirmed them."_

Ray blinked, confusion flooding his eyes. He recognized most of those words, like he had with Stormy, but he didn't know what a couple of them meant. _"I'm sorry... what are you talking about?"_

FSM leaned forward, pressing his fingers together as he latched his eyes onto Ray's. " _I'm talking about the fact that you have powers... fire based unless I'm mistaken."_

Ray sucked in a breath, his heart pounding as he stared stunned at the elderly man. " _How...?"_

FSM stood up, walking over to his office window. " _When we first met. When I went to pay you, your powers leapt at my touch. I am rather used to that happening, when I make contact with either of my sons or students. Since the reason for it because they each of a special power, called an elemental power, inside of them."_ He paused, turning to face Ray, to double check that he hadn't lost him yet. _"When our hands brushed and your powers reacted to my own power, I knew instinctively that you were one of us. The only question is which element do you control?_ _A question that you answered earlier today when you used your powers to protect your loved ones."_

Ray felt his head swim with this information. He still wasn't sure what _elemental_ meant...but apparently his own fire fell under that strange word. _"What are you going to do with me?"_

FSM sighed loudly as he lowered himself into his chair, rolling his eyes skyward. " _I'm not going to do anything with you. Having elemental powers is just a part of who you are. Just like my not being Human is part of who I am."_

" _What_?!" Ray yelped loudly, leaping out of his chair as he stared at the man before him. He had been so sure that FSM was human...he didn't look inhuman at least.

" _Spin! How many times do I have to tell you not to tell everyone that you are not human!?"_ A familiar feminine voice called out from behind Ray, causing a tiny smile to tug at his lips. Nina Jade Master, wife of FSM, was in the room with them.

Ray twisted around to nod in greeting to the dark haired beauty that was leaning against the door frame. Nin, as she most often times was called, grinned at him, laughter dancing in her eyes. _"Do you need me to beat my husband for you?"_

 _"No thank you."_ Ray bit back a laugh, amused about her enthusiasm. Nin never acted her age, which was much older than what she looked, emerald green eyes always sparkling with some emotion. She also was the only one that could beat FSM at a fair spar. Everyone else, including Garmadon and Wu, had to cheat to get the upper-hand.

Nin nodded in understanding, before strolling over to her husband. _"Come Spin... There is something I want to show you."_

 _"If it is our sons fighting over Misako again, I'm not interested."_ FSM groaned, referencing to the ongoing fight on who Misako liked more.

Nin laughed again, already grabbing his hand and pulling him out of his seat. " _No. The Serpentine Council wants to speak with you. Something about you not always going to be around to save the day."_

FSM rolled his eyes at that, before nodding to Ray. _"Nin, say hello to the first ever master of Fire."_

 _"Hey there Ray. Didn't know you could control fire."_ Nin casually greeted Ray, before dragging FSM out of there. Ray decided that he really didn't want to know what she was like when she was closer to his age. She was was a handful still, and he could only imagine how much worse it was when she was younger.

Ray stared after them for a few minutes, before deciding that the meeting must be over with. Standing up, he hurried off to find something to do. Slipping into the courtyard, he was nearly bombarded by Stormy. _"Ray! Ray! You got to start training with us now that your an elemental master!"_

 _"Stormy! Let him breath!"_ It was one of the twins, by the looks of things Krux, leaning forward to pull Stormy away from Ray.

Ray took a step back, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Whoever married her would have to have greater patience than FSM. " _Thank you Krux."_

 _"Don't thank me."_ Krux grunted as he ushered her back to the training course.

Acronix, the other twin, was leaning against a wall looking bored as he stared after his brother. _"Come on... we don't have all day!"_

Wu hurried over, concern dancing in his eyes. " _Would you like to take the rest of the day off to be with_ Maya _and_ Hope _?"_

Ray paused, allowing the question to mull briefly in his mind. " _Yes. I would love that._ "

Wu nodded to the gate by way to show that Ray was being dismissed. Ray nodded in understanding, before leaving the courtyard...mulling over what just happened.

 **A/N: Slightly short... but yeah. This is a good stopping point. Nin belongs to Angel Talon, Thank you for letting me use her! And we got to meet the Time Twins in this chapter! Krux seems so nice pulling Stormy off of Ray... before you ask, this is before they turn evil and are fighting alongside the others instead of against. Don't worry, there will be a whole arc about them turning against the others.**

 **Who loves Nin? She has personality...and yeah... FSM can't keep up with her.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: Bye Bye Hope...

Ray had no idea how it was that for the past three months he had managed to avoid training with the others. He and Maya were by now completely fluent in the native tongue of their own home...minus Maya's name. Apparently it didn't exist here. Shoveling the last of the snow off of the walkway, he turned to head back inside. Winter was, so far, his least favorite season. And he could tell by how antsy everyone was getting that they were thinking that same thing. Blowing on his fingers in an attempt to warm himself up, he slipped past the door, nudging it shut with his foot.

 _"Hey there Ray...cold?"_ Forest was standing close to the door, watering can in hand.

Somehow Ray wasn't too surprised about that. Forest could control plants with his mind and had a soft spot for them. _"Very. You by chance don't have any warm drinks stocked up in the kitchen by chance do you?"_

 _"Aye. Hot Cider, Hot Cocoa, Tea, and Coffee. Pick your preference."_ Forest sat the can down on the end table in the hallway, gesturing for Ray to follow him to the kitchen.

Ray wrinkled his nose, not entirely sure that he wanted to attempt coffee again. That stuff was way too bitter and had a horrible after taste. _"I think I'll try the hot cider this time."_

Forest nodded, even as he pushed open the kitchen door. Ray peeked inside to see that he wasn't the only one that was freezing and looking for something warm to drink. Wu noticed Ray and lowered his mug to wave at him, a smile lightening his face. " _Ray! Come on in! We'll probably end training early today so you can leave now to work out where all of your furniture is going to go."_

 _"Don't forget the wedding plans. I still can't believe you two are just engaged and not married."_ Misako gushed, her eyes sparkling with excitement about the upcoming summer wedding.

Ray poured himself a mug of hot cider, sniffing it timidly before daring to take a small sip. _"Thanks. I still can't believe you guys didn't insist that we wed within minutes of finding out."_

Shrugs rippled through the group as they settled down to talk as they sipped at the contents of their mugs. _"I still can't believe that Stormy and Cliff are still going strong. You don't think they'll actually get married, do you?"_ (Acronix)

 _"Hope is growing up so fast! I can't wait for her first birthday!" (Garmadon... he's a smidgen baby crazy)_

 _"I heard that Maya finally got her driver's license. How much longer till you get yours?" (Krux)_

 _"Next month if everything goes according to plan." (Ray)_

The door suddenly banged open as Lucan ran into the room. " _There was an accident on the road connecting us to Ignacia Village!"_

Ray leapt to his feet, his color draining from his face. _"That's where I bought my house!_ Maya _and Hope are down there!"_

Lucan swallowed hard as he turned to face Ray. " _That's just the thing... they were involved with the accident..."_ He shifted nervously, as if afraid of Ray's reaction.

Ray lunged to his feet, tearing across the building to the outside. With only on goal on his mind. Get to the two most important people in his life fast.

...

Ray paced as he wrung his hands, waiting for word from the doctors. Wu was standing by the hospital's window, watching the flow of traffic that was taking place floors below them. Misako was sitting in a chair, reading a magazine as she awaited word. Ray stopped in his pacing so as to turn to stare at the door that separated the waiting room from the rest of the hospital. Lucan had felt awkward coming in with them, so he was back at the monastery though Ray wouldn't mind knowing what exactly had happened. He knew that the winter months had a higher risk of vehicle accidents, but he wouldn't mind knowing precisely what had happened.

The door swung opened as a doctor stepped into the room. _"Family of Hope Smith and her mother,_ Maya _?"_

Ray stepped forward, his heart thudding loudly in his chest. _"Are they alright? Please tell me that they are fine..."_ He begged as he ran his hands through his hair.

The doctor winced at his request, before lifting up his clipboard. _"_ Maya _will be fine in a few days. She took a bit of a beating, but nothing that a few days of rest won't fix... Hope on the other hand... I am so sorry for your lost."_

Ray felt hot tears threatening to escape his eyes, shock and horror flooding him along with a sudden deep well of pure grief. His baby girl was dead. Ray sank into one of the chairs, burying his face as he cried, wondering what it was that he had done to deserve his little princess to die so young. He was vaguely aware of a hand landing on his shoulder, and of voices discussing something.

" _Ray? The doctor wants to know if you would like to hold Hope one last time before we plan the funeral?"_ Wu timidly asked his newest best friend as he gently shook his shoulder to get his attention.

Ray nodded numbly, not wanting to believe that she was dead just. The doctor silently gestured for him to follow him through the swinging door towards the patients. Swallowing hard, Ray stood up and followed the doctor, though he wasn't aware that he was doing it. Finally he was lead into a room that was empty and far too silent. Numbly, he sank into a rocking chair that was set up in the room. The doctor walked over to the hospital cradle that was in the room, lifting a small limp form up out of the cradle. Walking over to Ray, he handed the cold lifeless form to him.

Ray felt a fresh wave of tears hit as he looked down and realized that the child in his arms really was his little girl...and her cold lifeless form made it very clear that the doctor had told the truth. She hadn't made it. A sob escaped him as he buried his face into her soft auburn locks...

 **A/N: Done! Before you all scream and threaten me for killing off a little baby... Kai is the oldest in the family. I had planned on killing her off before you guys even knew that Maya was going to have a kid. I also technically was planning on having Ray and Maya have three other babies (all girls) before Hope and they all die prematurely. Hope was the one that was going to live the longest but still die in her infancy. Just be glad that I listened to Angel when she told me that I really shouldn't make Hope really sick and draw out her death like I was planning and have it so that it was an automobile accident. And now we have a general idea of when the wedding will happen! Summer... you all can wait that long, right?**

 **I probably should do the funeral next but writing a funeral for a baby doesn't make me seem like a nice person. I mean before this story the only characters I killed off was an old dog that belonged to Kai and Nya. But again it was really really old. It was time for it to die. Well... if you read Do you Know Who I Am it kinda looks like I killed Lloyd off. At least, in the distant future Lloyd was brutally murdered in front of Kai. But the whole point for them to travel back in time was to stop the events that led to Lloyd's death from happening.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: Another War...Seriously?

Ray paused as he vaguely wondered if things will go faster if he just melted the snow off with his fire powers. He nearly glanced around to see if anyone was watching, before catching himself. They already knew that he had powers _and_ everyone that worked here had them...minus Misako and Nin that is.

" _Jamankai Village is under attack!_ " Acronix darted into the courtyard, drawing the attention of the others.

Wu shook his head, exasperation edging his voice. _"Jamankai Village typically is under attack. I don't see the big deal here."_

 _"Try that the Serpentine are the ones doing the attacking."_ Krux joined his brother, worry creasing his brow.

FSM appeared, a frown creasing his brow. " _Everyone! Go defend the people! There must be a reason why they're attacking us."_

Ray silently watched the others bolt out of there, even as a single thought crossed his mind. _Another War? Really? Didn't we just leave a war behind?_

...

Ray nearly felt his heart stop when he noticed Maya being cornered by two of the serpentine. Frantically, he glanced around to see if he couldn't find someone to help her escape the sneaky snakes. Maya noticed him looking, and promptly yelled. "¡Derretir la nieve! ¡Puedo usar el agua como arma!"

Ray shook his head, frustration flashing through him. "Maya! I do not speak your Native Tongue! Can you repeat that?"

"Melt the snow! I can use the water as a weapon!" Maya responded back in Ray's Native Tongue.

Ray took a deep breath, before thrusting his hand out, a fireball flinging out of the palm of his hand and landing on the rooftop above her. A soft hiss rose up as the snow melted on impact. Maya moved quickly, waving her arms in a wide arc. The literal ice cold water flew down from the roof and slammed into the serpentine pinning her down. Now free, she leapt into action, blasting serpentine away from their various friends. " _Stay away from my_ amigos _! Ray! Don't just stand there! Help me out over here!"_

Ray shook his head, before leaping into action, falling in step with his fiancee. Fire danced along his fist as he punched any serpentine that got too close to him. After awhile, a single thought crossed his mind. _There has to be a better way to do this!_

~Few Months Later~

 _"So we now know that Chen is responsible for this contention...but what can we possibly do about that?"_ Wu questioned his older brother, FSM rubbing his forehead.

Ray frowned, watching the elderly man's movement. Lately FSM has been tiring easily. Nin has expressed some concern, but he kept brushing it to the side. A warm hand landed on his shoulder, drawing his attention. Maya smiled at him, tilting her head to teh side. _"We best figure out what to do with the serpentine soon... Stormy just left on her Honeymoon."_

 _"Still can't believe the actor could keep up with her and he proposed!"_ Someone muttered under their breath, though he couldn't tell who.

Ray shuffled the papers in his hands, his brow creasing with worry. _"I'm not entirely sure this will work...but I noticed that snake charmers use a special flute to control their snakes. Perhaps we can make some similar flutes that affect the serpentine and lead them to separate tombs below ground?"_

FSM stood shakily up, slowly nodding to show his understanding. _"Perfect. We can banish the Anacondrai Generals since they are the ones that are leading the attacks. Though we do need someone that knows how to make flutes to make these for us..."_

 _"I know how. I used to make them in my free time when I was younger._ " Ray offered, hope dancing in his eyes.

FSM nodded once, a single word slipping out. Ray sprang up, hurrying out of the door. At least here they look at all angles to make sure that they don't have to actually fight the enemy, unlike his own people.

~Weeks Later, Early Spring~

Ray flopped unceremoniously onto his couch, plopping his legs over the edge of the couch's arm. He had jsut finished leading the Anacondrai tribe to their new permanent home...and he was exhausted. Maya walked over, her arms circling around him. "Next stop... _our_ wedding."

Ray couldn't help the small smile that inched on his face upon hearing _that._ Spring was here, and after spring is summer...and their wedding day. No way anything bad was going to happen between now and then! They just won a war after all...

 **A/N: Done! Next stop: Time Twins Betrayal! I hate writing about wars and battles and such. So, viola the First Serpentine War has been fought and won within a few months. Sorry that the chapter is short...and it took so long. I had mega writers block.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One: Death of a Father...

Ray carefully patted down the dirt down around the plants he just planted with Forest's help. Thudding footsteps approached from behind, which Ray would have ignored if he hadn't realized that they were headed straight to him. Lifting his head up, he glanced behind him to see that it was Wu, his expression grim. _"Father took a turn for the worst. We're heading to the hospital now. Anyone want to come with is welcome to."_

Ray felt his heart lurch, panic flashing through him. In the short time that he's been here, FSM has been more of a father to him than his own ever had been. "I'll come." Realizing everyone was giving him confused looks, he translated what he said. " _I'll come with you._ "

Wu nodded, relief flooding his eyes. _"Thank you Ray."_

...

Maya laced her fingers through Ray's, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Wu was standing next to the window, staring blankly out of it, while Garmadon was still elsewhere. Misako wrung her hands together as she paced around the waiting room. Nin was twisting a piece of fabric, a handkerchief by the looks of things, tears glistening in her eyes.

Ray shifted slightly, turning to face the door that led to where the patients were treated as the door swung open. The doctor that exited it ignored them as he approached a worried looking young couple. Ray sighed, vaguely wondering if the saying no news is good news could be applied to _this._ Ray lifted his free hand up to run it through his hair, frustration flashing through him. _What was taking the doctor so long!?_

As if to answer his question, an elderly looking doctor entered the waiting room, his eyes latching onto Nin. " _Family of FSM?"_

 _"That would be me...and my son brought a couple of friends with."_ Nin stood up, gesturing to the rest of her party. _"My other son isn't here yet."_

Misako moved closer, worry still dancing in her eyes. _"Is he alright?"_

The doctor sighed, before speaking solemnly to the family members that were crowding around, along with Ray and Maya. _"I am afraid that I have done everything within my power to help him. He doesn't have much more time with us anymore. Would you like to go back and say your goodbyes?"_

 _"Yes."_ Nin swiped her kerchief at her eyes, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

 _"Right this way."_

Ray took a deep breath, hanging back as the others followed the doctor. Maya rubbed her thumb along the side of his hand, before speaking up. " _I believe we will stay here. We are not family and we don't want to intrude."_

 _"Thank you."_ Nin came back over to give them a quick hug, sniffling back a few tears.

Ray hugged her back, feeling as if he were hugging someone that knew more about how to be a mother than what his ever had.

...

Ray stared blankly at the coffin as it lowered into the ground, feeling numb with grieve. It wasn't as if he has never seen a funeral before, he had seen plenty of those during the war back home. As the heir to the throne, he was expected to be there every time they dumped several bodies into the ground and said a few nice things about the men that had been killed in battle. Or died while in the medical tent. He lifted a hand up, wiping at the tears that streamed down his face. None of those men that he attended the group funerals for he was close to. In fact, more times than not he didn't even know their names! It's different though when it's a friend and mentor... so very different.

Maya pulled out her kerchief, dabbing it just below her eyes. "I cannot believe he is gone..."

"I know... I know..." Ray murmured softly to her.

...

Garmadon glared at Wu, fury dancing in his eyes. _"Father always liked you best!"_

 _"You are being ridiculous!"_ Wu retorted, his voice sharp.

Ray took a step back, ducking behind the open door, all the while crossing his fingers that they hadn't noticed him. Garmadon appeared to be getting worse far more quickly now that FSM was gone. He knew from earlier conversations that Garmadon was bit by a snake when he was younger that had a unique venom in its fangs that turns anything it bit evil. He always seemed nice, with the slightest of worse intentions mixed in there, seeing him with such little...control, was horrifying. If only...

 _"Ray!"_ Krux came skidding up to Ray, holding a worn out blade in his hand. _"There you are! I was wondering if you would like to fix this for me. I know you have been working on setting up your own blacksmith shop."_

Ray bit back a groan, shooting him a withering look. _"What did you do to wear it out so quick? I only fixed it just last week!"_

 _"Nothing. Honest."_ Krux smoothly sidestepped him. _"Can you fix it? Want it in to shape before the next fight."_

Ray shook his head, accepting the weapon from him. " _Honestly. I can fix it. Don't go in there, Garmadon and Wu are in a fight right now."_

Krux nodded, glancing into the kitchen. _"_ _I actually need to speak with Garmadon about something I need his help with..."_

 _"What do you need his help with? Surely someone else will do? He is getting worse by the minute."_ Ray narrowed his eyes, puzzled by Krux's believe that he needed Garmadon's help with something.

Krux blinked, glancing over at Ray. _"Nothing much. It doesn't concern you Ray. I just need his help with... a theory."_

Ray frowned, but turned to leave with the weapon. It really wasn't his business if Krux felt like Garmadon was the only one that could help him with something. It was just odd... with how bad he was getting, typically they tried to avoid needing his help. Something odd was going on here...

 **A/N: Done! Um yeah... changed my mind. FSM is now dead, from natural causes! He was sick in the last chapter, and they mentioned in the beginning of this chapter that he took a turn for the worst. On the bright side, Krux just accidentally gave Ray the biggest clue that he can't be trusted!**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two: Betrayal of Friends...

To this day, Ray has no idea how it happened. It didn't exactly help him that he felt absolutely worthless lying in bed resting instead of fighting for all of Ninjago. Oh, he knew he did his part, and then some, and that he was under orders to rest... but still. He had no idea how it all happened. It all started like any other day...

~Three Weeks Ago~

Ray yanked a handful of weeds up, his mind crammed full of wedding details. Shaking his head to dislodge the recent discussion on tablecloths from playing on repeat, he tossed the weeds in a little pile next to him. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as Garmadon waved his arms around wildly, clearly upset about something as he talked with Wu and the others. Forest noticed Ray watching and came over to talk with him.

" _Garmadon seems to think that Krux and Acronix have gone AWOL_." Forest explained calmly to Ray as he knelt down beside him, grabbing a handful of weeds and pulling them up as well.

 _"That has to be crazy talk. Garmadon is the one with the Great Devourer's venom in his blood. Not the twins."_ Ray commented, brushing dirt off of his knees.

Forest tilted his head to the side, uncertainty dancing in his eyes. " _I normally would agree with you... but then there is a slight problem called no one is actually super close to them and they've been using their all during training...especially when we're doing the one on one spars."_

 _"They're not supposed to do that."_ Ray murmured softly, before glancing back over at the others... just in time to see Krux and Acronix approach them.

Curious, and a bit concerned with what Garmadon claims, Ray stood up and went to join the others. Just in time for him to hear Krux speak up. _"Time is are more powerful than anything else in all Sixteen Realms. We should be the rulers of Ninjago, not the Emperor."_

Ray gasped, as did the others. Wu shook his head, dismay flaring across his features. " _I was hoping that my brother was mistaken when he said that you no longer care about protecting Ninjago."_

 _"Who said that we ever have cared about protecting Ninjago?" Acronix drily questioned Wu._

Ray cleared his throat, before speaking up. " _You are one of Ninjago's protectors... everyone presumes that means you want to protect Ninjago."_

 _"Oh lookie! The mysterious master of Fire wants to join the others!"_ Ray decided right then not to point out that he's been here for almost a year. He being there really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone!

~Three Days Later~

Maya lifted up a damp rag, quickly wiping blood and sweat off of a panting Sam. Ray frowned as he lowered an injured Forest down to rest on the couch. The fact that Sam was panting was pretty worrisome, since he could run faster than the speed of light and didn't wear down as fast as most people. "We need to find a way to stop them. No one has yet to get close enough to them to get the upper-hand."

 _"Ray I was just thinking... You and Maya both have powers that no one has seen before. Maybe you should see if you can't get the upper-hand with them."_ Misako commented as she wrapped an ace bandage around Garmadon's arm.

Ray quickly shook his head, hating to be the voice of negativity. " _They know about our powers, we won't have more luck than you."_

Misako sighed, clearly disappointed. Ray sat down next to Forest, placing his head into his hands as he stared straight ahead. " _What we need is a way to take away their powers for good. Anyone got any bright ideas?"_

Jasper looked up from where he was tending to a burn on his arm. " _The island we sent Chen and his minions to have this special mineral located in the caves behind the waterfalls that can absorb the powers of elemental masters. Of course once it does that, there is no getting the powers back ever."_

 _"Jasper... how do you know about this?"_ Ray gave his friend a weird look, perplexed about how he could possibly know any of that.

Jasper shrugged, before testing his powers to make sure they were still in working order. " _It's a mineral, close enough to metal that I can sense it."_ Jasper paused, looking back at him. " _Ray, you're like the best blacksmith to live in Ninjago since the eighteen hundreds. If I can get you some of that metal, do you think you can turn it into some kind of weapon to use against the Time Twins?"_

Ray thought things over, an idea already starting to take form. _"Get me the minerals. I've got an idea..."_

 _"Make multiple of them. Not only are they twins so it will be double trouble for the rest of us, but if we can spread out their powers far enough they won't be able to get them all at once."_ Garmadon piped up, his expression thoughtful.

Ray nodded in understanding, already adjusting his plan so that instead of one big one, it was four small ones. _"I understand completely."_

~Just that Morning...~

Jasper dumped the load of glistening, pure minerals next to Ray's forge, wiping a bead of sweat away. _"Do you need anymore than this?"_

Ray scanned the load, a grin crossing his features. " _Perfect. I'll have the Time Blades ready later today."_

 _"You can get them done that fast?"_ Mason wiped his hands on his pants, one eyebrow shooting upwards.

Ray nodded, already heating his forge up so as to start melting the material. " _Doesn't take as long to make small daggers as it does to make a full length sword."_

" _Just don't rush the job... we need good strong Time Blades if we're gonna stop them."_

~One Hour Earlier~

Ray carefully unwrapped the four Time Blades allowing them to fall into Wu's outstretched hands. _"Each one is specifically made to target one aspect of their powers. They will have to find and reunite all four to get their powers back. Does that make sense?"_

 _"Yes. Now I suggest that you and Maya go rest."_ Wu glanced back at the others, as if to confirm that they were on his side.

Ray felt himself bristle at the clear command, his eyes narrowing slightly. " _Wu, you need all hands on deck for this..."_

 _"And the Time Twins know that you are the only one with the talent necessary to make these. Go. You need to rest from making these, and hide so that they can't harm either of you."_ Garmadon interjected, shoving Ray and Maya out the door.

Ray opened and closed his mouth multiple times, before realizing that he had no words to say to them to change their minds. A rest sounded very nice right about now...

~Present~

Maya settled down next to Ray, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, leaning in close. "You alright there, amor?"

Ray nodded, she had taken to calling him amor a while back and he had no idea what it meant. "I am fine. Just tired."

 **A/N: Done! Okay if you are confused, this chapter is basically a flashback from Ray about the Hands of Time betrayal. Oh and I got myself a keyboard that doesn't have a mousepad on it so I don't accidentally bump and mess up my typing because laptops have to have a mousepad for some reason. I've been using a wireless mouse for a while now, and now I have a wireless keyboard to go with it. Perfect in my mind.**

 **Hopefully this chapter is not too confusing...**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Dream Wedding...

Ray was sure that he wasn't supposed to be nervous. He's been engaged to her close to a year now... and they've known each other for years! So, why was the palm of his hands sweating so badly? He spun in a circle as he continued to pace, worry eating away at him. "I can't do this... this is a bad bad idea... what if she changes her mind and decides that she doesn't want to get married!?"

 _"Ray... I can't understand a word that you are saying...but obviously you are going through what Mother refers to as the Wedding Jitters."_ Wu appeared in the doorway, one eyebrow lifting up so high that it had disappeared into the brim of his hat.

 _"So...this is totally normal?"_ Ray blinked rapidly, vaguely wondering how it was that marrying one's true love could be so... _frightening_. Shouldn't it be more exciting?

Wu shrugged, moving further into the room, gesturing for Ray to step in front of a floor length mirror. Ray sighed as he moved in front of it, tugging nervously at the loose tie that hung around his neck. " _Let me help you with that..."_ Wu grasped the tie in his capable hands, quickly tying it up properly. " _There. Now you are ready... you do remember how to breath, right?"_ Wu coughed into his fist, a smile twitching on his face.

It took Ray a full minute before he realized that he had stopped breathing, thus why Wu was asking if he still remembered how to breath. Ray gasped loudly as he began to gulp in large amounts of air into his lungs, trying to get much needed oxygen in him. Giving his head a quick shake, he sank into one of the chairs that was in the small guest room that he was getting ready in. " _Wu... what if we're not ready for this? What if we're rushing things and we need to work more on getting to know each other..."_

 _"Ray... the two of you are perfect for each other! And how can you not be ready to get married? You've been living with each other close to a year, and that is just here in Ninjago! You must have been together for a while before you arrived here since you had little Hope already."_ Wu paused, guilt flashing across his features briefly, " _Sorry about that. I forgot that it hasn't been long since..."_ Wu tripped over his words, turning red in the face, before finally changing the topic. " _If the two of you could handle being parents to Hope before you were married, you are totally ready for that step in life."_ Wu still looked highly embarrassed for bringing up Ray's dead daughter.

Ray thought things over, recalling how, even though they weren't married, he was already the one that was providing the income for the two of them. That, and Wu was right. They had proven themselves ready with how they had handled the whole Maya getting pregnant with his kid situation. " _You're right. We're ready for this step."_ Ray nodded slowly, as if he were trying to convince himself about that detail.

Wu shook his head at his best friend, a chuckle escaping him. " _Come on... time for you to get to the altar."_ He probably shouldn't have said that since Ray started to hyperventilate again.

Ray grasped the chair's arms, his face paling rather quickly. "I cannot believe we're actually going through with this!"

...

The _Bride's March_ **(A/N: I think that is what the song that plays when the bride walks down the aisle is called...)** played clearly as Maya floated down the aisle, a beautiful bouquet of red roses and white water lilies clutched tightly in her hands. She was wearing a gorgeous gown of blue and white silk that fell to the floor, with off-the shoulder sleeves and a delicate lace veil and train. Four of their female friends were right behind her, carrying said train since it was so long that it dragged across the floor.

Stopping next to Ray, Maya turned to face him, a large smile on her face. "I am so excited about this! Aren't you thrilled that we decided to do this?"

Ray numbly nodded, taking in the dress that she was wearing. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

The preacher cleared his throat loudly, before speaking directly to the happy couple. " _If you are done complimenting each other. We need to start the giving of the vows."_

 _"_ _Of course!"_ Ray smiled broadly at that, excited to trade vows with his beautiful bride.

 _"Anyone that believes that this young couple should not join together in holy matrimony please speak now or further hold your peace."_ The preacher looked out over the crowded cultural hall. Was it just Ray, or did there appear to be more people here than they invited?

"I object! That girl is the enemy!" A horribly familiar voice roared out, as a familiar man that Ray thought he would never see again sprang to his feet near the back of the room. It was when he did that, that Ray realized most of the guests was his father's army.

"Father...Please! Don't do it!" "King Henry?!"

Wu sprang forward, promptly yelling at the infuriated ruler. "¡Déjalos en paz! ¡Solo quieren casarse!"

Unfortunately... that appeared to infuriate him further. Ray was too busy trying to figure since when did Wu speak Spanish when Maya screeched loudly. Startled, Ray spun around to find his father plunging a sharp sword into Maya's chest. "No!" Ray lunged forward, trying to pull his father off of his love, only for a guard to grab a hold of him...

* * *

"Maya!" Ray woke with a start, to find that his face had been plastered to the table that he had been sitting at. Blinking rapidly, he rubbed his cheek in an attempt to bring life back to it, while scanning his surroundings.

Garmadon sniggered at the sight of him, a hot cup of cider in his hand, while Wu lowered his cup of tea. _"Nightmare?"_

Ray tiredly nodded in confirmation, now trying to figure out where the rest of Garmadon's guests were at. He had somehow fallen asleep at Garmadon's bachelor party. Last thing he remembered was... Pevsner singing a lullaby for the karaoke competition. " _I think I still have wedding jitters. I keep having the same nightmare about it that I did three weeks ago."_

 _"Dude! You've been married for two weeks now. Chillax!"_ Garmadon burst out laughing, swatting Ray hard on the shoulder.

Ray winced, glancing over at Wu for some support. Wu sighed, sitting his cup down as he turned to face his brother. " _Garmadon... Ray does not need advise from you. Just worry about your wedding day later this week, okay?"_

 _"Fine... fine. I get it. No advice from me."_ Garmadon grumbled turning away from Ray. Ray shook his head, glancing around one more time.

 _"Where is everyone?"_

Wu winced at that, guilt flashing briefly in his eyes. " _You've been asleep for the past six hours. The party_ _only lasted for four hours. We would have woken you up...but we called_ Maya _first and she said that, well, you haven't been sleeping well due to nightmares and that we should just let you sleep."_

 _"Great... my wife as been discussing my sleep habits with my friends."_ Ray allowed a small smile cross his features as he noted that he could call Maya his wife now.

 **A/N: Done! So...who thought I was actually going to kill off Maya? Next up: Maya makes a little discovery... any guesses? So with the spread of the Coronavirus I am going into quarantine any day now... fun. Not. I am going to get the go bug so badly...**

 **Reviews:**

 ***cricket chirps loudly* Or not. I made myself promise that I will respond to all reviews from now on. I cannot do that if there is no reviews so please send in a review.**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four: Its a Real Soup Just So You all know...

Maya rubbed her arms nervously, positive that she had misheard the doctor. " _Are you sure Doctor? That I'm_ embarazada?" She couldn't be... it was still too soon.

 _"Yes... I am sure."_ He didn't ask what she meant by the last word, guessing that it was her diagnosis that he had given her.

Maya ran a hand through her hair, her face tense. This couldn't be happening... " _I think that I will go home to rest..."_

 _"Yes, good idea. You need plenty of rest. I'll call in the prescription."_ Maya slowly left the room, allowing the door to snap shut behind her. Moving down the clean hallway at the medical office, she jiggled her keys out of her purse, brow furrowed with worry.

Stepping out of the busy lobby, she moved across the hot parking lot to where her car was parked, waiting for her return. Unlocking it, she slid into the seat, before pulling her cell out and dialing Ray's number. _"_ **Hello? What did the doctor say? You don't have any medications that we need to pay for, do you?** "

"Just a prescription to help with the nausea." Maya turned the air conditioning up, hoping to cool herself off before she even leaves the parking lot.

 **"That's good...that is good right?"**

Maya licked her lips as she finally shifted into drive and pulled out of the lot. "Well...yeah. There wasn't much more he could do. I'm completely healthy at the moment. How was Garmadon's bachelor party?" The ensuing silence, made her want to flick on the turn signal and drive as fast as the speed limit allowed straight to the Monastery where the party was held.

 **"I fell asleep and had another one of my nightmares. Missed most of it... and apparently you knew that I had fallen asleep cause the guys had called you."** His voice was laced with annoyance, clearly he was either annoyed with himself for falling asleep at the party, or was annoyed that she had told Wu to let him sleep.

"Just trying to help you out there sweetie." Maya flipped the turn signal on, merging in with the lane that led to the grocery store. "You know what? I think I'm gonna attempt that recipe that Misako gave me. Been meaning to get to it anyways."

 **"Okay...if you say so."**

Maya hummed slightly, now turning into the crowded parking lot in front of the store. "I'll see you later... bye Ray."

 **"Bye Maya.** "

Hanging up, she turned the car off, before climbing out of the vehicle, stretching slightly. Walking across the hot pavement, she nodded to a young family that was pushing a laden cart over to their vehicle in greeting, before stepping into the cool, air conditioned, store. Grabbing one of the shopping carts, she wheeled it over to where the wipes for wiping down the carts were kept, pulling one out to wipe the cart down. Tossing the used wipe into the nearby trash can. Stepping into the part of the store that was the actual store, she nodded to the store greeter, before going over to the produce aisle. Going over the ripe, fresh greens, she picked out a clump of kale, which she carefully bagged and placed in the cart. Maya then walked over to where the onions where kept, bagging up a small yellow one, which she placed next to the kale.

Walking over to the meat aisle, she grabbed a pound of bacon, before moving over to look over the selection of Italian sausage. After thinking it over, she decided that the mild probably would be better for them, and placed that in the cart. Going over to the dairy aisle, she absentmindedly picked up a carton of cream, placing it in the cart. Moving over to where the Pillsbury biscuits were kept, she tossed a thing of crescent rolls in her cart as well, figuring that those would go well with the soup.

Now just wandering aimlessly as she waited to give the pharmacy time to fill out her order, especially since she knew that she had potatoes and chicken broth back at the house, she turned towards the snack aisle. It wasn't like she was going to buy something that she didn't need anyway...

...

Maya approached the pharmacy counter, ignoring how _full_ her cart now was. Somehow not buying anything that she didn't need for dinner turned into seven different bags of chips, three boxes of cookies, a bucket of her favorite ice cream, and a large bag of candy. She just hoped that she could explain this to Ray without making him raise his eyebrows...or go papa bear on her.

" _Can we help you?"_ The pharmacist smiled warmly at her as she suddenly found herself at the front.

 _"Yes... my name is_ Maya _Smith... my doctor should have called in some prescription nausea pills."_

 _"Let me see here..."_ The pharmacist disappeared into the back, already grabbing one of his co-workers.

A few minutes later, Maya was leaving the store with her paid for items, most of which she wasn't planning on buying in the first place, and her new prescription settled into her purse. Popping the trunk open, she placed the grocery bags in there, before glancing down at her watch. Ray should be home in a couple of hours. Plenty of time for her to get home and make the soup, as well as bake the crescents. Hopefully she would have the rest of the groceries hidden before he arrives...

 **A/N: Done! Yes...I know that it's short. Sorry not sorry. I am struggling with this chapter and I don't think that you want to read about the drive home...or how she puts the soup together... or even where she hides, yes hides, the rest of the groceries. Any guesses on what it was that the doctor told her?**

 **Review:**

 **PiratePirata: They wanted an unofficial wedding, their friends insisted that they do a big one with all of them. Also... it was just a nightmare... I haven't killed Maya off, nor will I ever kill her off.**

 **Okay so I am late with playing board games with my sisters so bye!**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Announcement of a Lifetime!

Maya stirred the pot one last time, before turning the stove off. Grabbing the carton of cream, she poured it into the pot. Picking her spoon up, she stirred it in, before dropping the kale that she had chopped up into it. She distinctively heard the sound of a door banging shut, a smile twisting on her lips. "Ray! I'm in here! Dinner is ready if you won't mind setting the table!"

"Hmm... dinner certainly smells good." Ray walked over to where she stood, quickly wrapping his arm around her waist. Bending down, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, before moving over to the bowl cupboard. "Is that the _Zuppa_ that _Misako_ fed us couple of weeks ago?"

"If you mean the recipe... yes." Maya gestured to the basket of fresh rolls sitting on the counter next to her. "I baked rolls to go with it too."

"Hmm, delicious." Ray teased as he snatched one of the still warm rolls up, tearing a small piece off and tossing it into his mouth. Moving with the fluidity of a ninja, he quickly set the table for two, before picking up a pitcher of water that had ice floating in it. Bending over the settings, he poured the water into the ceramic cups that were popular around these parts.

Maya smiled tightly at the compliment, even as she carefully lifted the hot pot up and placed it on the cork trivet that was dead center of the table. "I uh... well... How was your day?"

"You besides falling asleep during _Garmadon's_ bachelor party? It was good." Ray shrugged as he used the ladle to fill his bowl. "What about yours? You were pretty vague about what the good _doctor's_ prognosis was."

Maya hummed to herself, quickly filling her own bowl before adding cheese to it. "Well... um...apparently..." Maya paused to take a deep breath, struggling to calm her nerves before blurting it out. "¡Hope va a ser una hermana mayor!"

"Wait... what?" Ray gave his young wife a puzzled look, before speaking up slowly. "Maya... I don't understand. What did the _doctor_ say?"

Maya groaned at that, stirring her soup with her spoon. "He said that..." She lifted a bit up, quickly sipping the hot broth off. Lowering her spoon again, she took another deep breath. "He said that I'm embarazada." Taking another deep breath, she explained herself. "We're going to be parents again."

Understanding flared across Ray's features... right before he lunged forward and hugged her tightly. "We need to get a nursery ready! Quick! Are any of our friends expecting?! If they are, maybe we can go shopping with them and plan playdates...and..."

"Ray!" Maya shook her head, struggling to keep a smile off of her face. "Honestly... Stormy says that they are waiting a few years before trying and the others aren't married or they have full grown kids." Ray deflated at that, moving back to his own seat to finish his own dinner. Maya sighed upon realizing that he was very eager to share this news with someone that might be able to help them. "I think Rochelle is expecting... you know, Mason's daughter?"

"I know the one. She married the Buckett fellow?" Ray gave a slow nod of his head.

Maya lifted her cup up, sipping at the cold liquid inside of it. "That's the one."

"Do we have a number for her?" Ray asked as he scooped up a large bite.

Maya picked out a piece of kale, nibbling at it thoughtfully. "I don't have it myself... but I'm sure either Mason or Kella have it."

"That makes sense... especially with how close Rochelle and Kella are." Ray shoveled more food into his mouth, perking up at the idea of asking the Master of Earth's daughter to help them plan for their new little one.

Maya shook her head, before scrapping out the bottom of her bowl. "Is it alright if we have mint chocolate chip ice cream after dinner?"

"I don't think we have any in the house..."

"Oh, I went to the store and bought some after I went to the _doctors_." Maya shrugged it off, shoveling more food into her mouth.

Ray shook his head, but wisely didn't say anything as he concentrated on eating his meal.

...

" _Yes! Yes! Yes!_ " Maya squealed as she hugged Kella, a young woman with natural dirty blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes, tightly before rushing off with the slip of paper in her hand.

Kella laughed, before hollering after her. " _Glad to see someone is excited. Make sure you explain to her **why** you're calling!"_

 _"Will do!"_ Maya hollered back, before pulling open her car door and sliding into it. Pulling her cell out, she dialed the number that Kella just gave her in. "Come on... come on... please answer!"

 _" **Hello?"**_ A soft feminine voice came over the line.

" _Rochelle? It's me._ Maya _. I just found out that I'm expecting a little one and was wondering if you would like to help me prepare for the little bundle of joy, since you are already preparing for one yourself we could do it together."_ Maya seriously hoped that Rochelle wouldn't find her strange for making such a request. The young woman was not entirely close to anyone... with the exception of her husband and Kella. Amazing really how close two people with exact opposite personalities could be.

 _"_ Maya... Maya... _isn't that the name of Dad's newest friend that showed up in time to help with the Serpentine War?"_

 _"Yes!"_ Maya fought the urge to punch the air, knowing that Rochelle couldn't see her.

 _"Hmm... this might actually work in my favor. Louis wants me to find someone to help me pick out baby supplies... a fellow expectant mother might meet his criteria."_

 _"Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to Ray... I mean seriously he was rather insistent that I find someone to go shopping with and was also pressing the matter that the someone be expecting also."_ Maya rolled her eyes skyward, a tiny smile on her face.

" _I feel ya there... say. How did you get my number?"_

 **A/N: Done! Semi-cliffhanger! Mainly so that I know where to start the next chapter. Hmm... any guesses on who Kella is? Ray is gonna get anxious all over again about Maya's health... oh well. I wonder which babies are on the way...? I mean we have two pregnant women with elemental genes in their blood. One is the daughter of Mason, master of earth, and the other is Maya, master of water. In case your wondering, Kella is important! She'll show up a couple of times! Rochelle is kinda on the shy side, while Kella is outgoing and constantly off doing things with others.**

 **Reviews:**

 **PiratePirata: Okay... so far you are the only one that has been reviewing this story for the past four chapters... and one of them no one reviewed on. Well... at least I know for sure that you like this one. Um... your review... let's see here... If you thought she said pregnant in the last chapter... you are correct! And now you know what she told Ray. (P.S. The first thing she told him in Spanish was that Hope, their little girl that died a couple of chapters ago, was going to be a big sister) Thank you!**

 **Review!**

 **SkyTalon**


End file.
